George Floyd Death Drives Police Accountability Laws in Over a Dozen States

More than a third of U.S. states enacted new restrictions on police power or oversight of law enforcement actions in the months after George Floyd’s death, with additional legislatures diving into the politically fraught issue this year.

Minnesota and 13 other states banned the type of chokeholds that led to Floyd’s death outside a Minneapolis convenience store. And the state where Floyd died led the way in requiring officers to step in when they see excessive use of force by a fellow cop—a movement mirrored in at least 10 other states.

“The killing of George Floyd was a watershed moment,” said Scott Wolfe, Michigan State University associate professor of criminal justice. “The amount of policy changes and discussions of law changes concerning how the police interact with the public is like we’ve never seen in the past.”

Floyd, a Black man, died May 25, 2020, as a White Minneapolis officer, Derek Chauvin, knelt on his neck for more than seven minutes.

Jury selection in Chauvin’s trial continues; he’s charged with second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and manslaughter. Three former police colleagues who were at the scene of Floyd’s killing are scheduled to be tried in August on charges of aiding and abetting murder and manslaughter.

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