George Perry Floyd was a 46-year-old African-American man who was born in Fayetteville, North Carolina, and raised in Houston, Texas.

He first being arrested in his 20s for theft and then a later arrest for armed robbery before he turned his life around. Floyd had at least five stints in jail. In one of the charging documents, officials noted Floyd had two convictions in the 1990s for theft and delivery of a controlled substance, but it is not clear if Floyd served any time for either of those offenses The final straw for Floyd came after serving five years in prison in 2009 for aggravated assault stemming from a robbery in 2007 where he entered a woman’s home, pressed a gun into her stomach and searched the home for drugs and money, according to court records.  

He attended Yates High School, where he played on the basketball and football teams.

 Floyd was a star tight end for Yates, helping them to the 1992 state championship final game.

 He attended South Florida Community College (now South Florida State College) from 1993 to 1995 and played on the school's basketball team.

Floyd returned to Houston, where he joined the hip hop group Screwed Up Click and rapped under the stage name "Big Floyd," after entering the Houston Hip Hop cultural scene as an automotive customizer.

 In 2014, Floyd moved to Minnesota. He lived in St. Louis Park and worked in nearby Minneapolis as a restaurant security guard for five years, but lost his job due to Minnesota's stay-at-home order during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Floyd was the father of two daughters, ages 6 and 22, who remained in Houston.

On the evening of Monday, May 25, 2020, George Floyd purchased a pack of cigarettes at Cup Foods, located at the intersection of East 38th Street and Chicago Avenue in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Floyd frequented the store. A store employee believed the $20 bill proffered by Floyd to be counterfeit

Shortly after 8:00 p.m. on May 25, Memorial Day, Minneapolis Police Department officers responded to a "forgery in progress" on Chicago Avenue South in the Powderhorn community of Minneapolis. According to WCCO, the implication was that Floyd "tried to use forged documents at a nearby deli."[clarification needed] According to a co-owner of Cup Foods, Floyd attempted to use a $20 bill that a staff member believed counterfeit.[62] According to police, Floyd was in a nearby car and "appeared to be under the influence." A spokesman for the police department said the officers ordered him to exit the vehicle, at which point he "physically resisted." 

 "combined effects of Mr. Floyd being restrained by the police, his underlying health conditions and any potential intoxicants in his system likely contributed to his death."

***

More than 75 cities have seen protests over what happened to George Floyd. Streets that only days ago were deserted because of the coronavirus pandemic have filled with demonstrators marching shoulder to shoulder.