Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was convicted last month of the murder of Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, after kneeling on his neck area for more than nine minutes as he was detained on suspicion of passing a counterfeit $20 bill. He faces up to 40 years in prison when sentenced on 25 June.
George
Floyd's sister has boycotted a meeting with US President Joe Biden, saying he
"broke a promise" to enact police reform legislation by the
anniversary of her brother's death.
While
Bridgett Floyd attended a rally in Minneapolis, Minnesota, other family members
lobbied Mr Biden at the White House to help pass the bill.
The George
Floyd Justice in Policing Act is stalled on Capitol Hill.
On Tuesday
cities in the US and abroad marked a year since Floyd's death.
Mr Biden had
set Tuesday as a deadline for signing police reform legislation.
After meeting
the president and Vice-President Kamala Harris at the White House, Floyd's
brother, Philonise, told reporters: "If you can make federal laws to
protect the bird which is the bald eagle, then you can make federal laws to
protect people of colour."
Floyd's other
brother, Terrence, said it had been "a very productive conversation"
in the Oval Office.
But Bridgett
Floyd - who instead held a moment of silence at a "Celebration of
Life" event in a downtown Minneapolis park - explained why she did not go
to Washington.
"I was
going to DC for Biden to sign a bill," she said. "Biden has not
signed that bill. Biden has broke a promise."
She added a
message for the president: "Get your people in order."
After meeting
the Floyd family, the president issued a statement pledging to keep supporting
the legislation.
"The
battle for the soul of America has been a constant push and pull between the
American ideal that we're all created equal and the harsh reality that racism
has long torn us apart," the president said. "At our best, the
American ideal wins out. It must again."
While Mr
Biden, a Democrat, has led the way in publicly lobbying for passage of
infrastructure and coronavirus stimulus bills, he has left much of the
negotiations over police reform to lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
"We have
been respecting the space needed for negotiators to have these
discussions," White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Tuesday as she
declined to offer a new deadline for reaching an agreement.
But activists
said Mr Biden needed to do more to help pass the bill.
"The
president will need to step up to make sure we get it across the finish
line," Judith Browne Dianis, executive director of the Advancement
Project, a racial justice organisation, told AP news agency.
Senate
Democrats last June blocked a police reform bill proposed by a black Republican
senator, Tim Scott of South Carolina. They argued it did not go far enough.
Now Senate
Republicans oppose a police reform bill passed in March by House of Representatives
Democrats, the main stumbling block being its provision to make it easier for
individual police officers to be sued and charged with crimes.
Mr Biden has
also been pressed by Black Lives Matter and other activists to stop military
equipment being supplied to police forces.
On the
campaign trail last year, he called for the US to "stop transferring
weapons of war to police forces".
But despite
calls from House Democrats to issue an executive order to that effect, the
White House has not acted.
Legal cases
surrounding Floyd's murder continue, meanwhile.
Earlier in
May a federal grand jury charged four ex-police officers - Alexander Keung,
Thomas Lane and Tou Thao as well as Chauvin - with violating Floyd's civil
rights.
Chauvin's
defence team has requested a new trial, accusing both prosecutors and jurors of
misconduct.
How did the
US mark the anniversary?
In New York
City, Mayor Bill de Blasio joined civil rights activist Rev Al Sharpton in
kneeling in silence for nine minutes and 29 seconds - the time that Chauvin
knelt on Floyd.
Across the
country, demonstrators gathered for a Black Lives Matter protest near City Hall
in Los Angeles.
And in
Minneapolis, many gathered at the intersection where Floyd took his last
breaths, which has been turned into a memorial site.
Events at
"George Floyd Square" were briefly interrupted by gunfire. One person
was reported injured as at least 20 rounds were fired.
Minneapolis
has been struggling with rising gun violence in the past year as nearly 200
officers in the city police department have resigned or gone on leave. A
six-year-old girl was among those fatally shot in recent weeks.
There were
also commemorative events on Tuesday for Floyd overseas.
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