More than two weeks after George Floyd took his last breath under the knee of a Minneapolis police officer, the 46-year-old ‘gentle giant’ has been laid to rest alongside his mother in Texas.
Floyd died on May 25 after officer Derek Chauvin, 44, kneeled on his neck for eight minutes and 46 seconds. Chauvin was fired, arrested and is being held on $1.25million bail.
Floyd’s death launched a nationwide call for defunding the police and prompted Black Lives Matter protests globally.
He was laid to rest at the Houston Memorial Gardens in Pearland next to his mother, Lacendra, who he called out for when he was struggling for breath just before he died.
Earlier on Tuesday, family, friends, and guests packed the Fountain of Praise Church as they said their last goodbyes during an emotional service.
The hearse carrying Floyd’s body followed by his family headed to the cemetery Tuesday afternoon with a police escort.
Members of the New Black Panther group were seen on site standing guard surrounding Floyd’s hearse as the procession exited the church. Floyd traveled the last mile of his journey to his resting place in a horse drawn carriage.
