The killing of George Floyd on May 25 set in motion a massive and complex investigation only now coming into fuller view after the conviction of former police officer Derek Chauvin.
In a crowded office at Minneapolis police headquarters, state investigators first met with Chauvin to question him soon after the fatal encounter that would touch off weeks of protests and unrest worldwide. Chauvin declined to be interviewed by authorities, but by then the high-stakes investigation was growing in scope and urgency.
Hundreds of pages of records obtained by the Star Tribune provide a behind-the-scenes look at how the probe into Floyd's death frantically unfolded as Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension agents spent countless hours poring over video footage, interviewing witnesses and reviewing forensic and digital evidence.
They eventually pieced together a detailed timeline of the incident, starting from when Floyd walked into Cup Foods on the warm May evening to his takedown and arrest by police for allegedly passing a fake $20 bill. Their counterparts at the FBI were doing the same as news and harrowing bystander footage of Floyd's death stirred outrage around the globe.
The world's eyes were on Minneapolis again Tuesday when a jury found Chauvin guilty of all three counts of murder and manslaughter after deliberating for less than 10 hours. He is expected to be sentenced later this year.
But, as the first protesters took to the streets the day after Floyd's death last year, investigators from the BCA were already working against the clock to get to the bottom of what happened — and why.
By then many people had seen the cellphone footage of Floyd's arrest, showing him pleading to breathe as officers Chauvin, J. Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane pinned him to the pavement — while a fourth officer, Tou Thao, stood guard — until he fell unconscious and died. All four were later fired and charged in Floyd's death.
BCA spokesperson Jill Oliveira declined to answer questions about the investigation, saying Chauvin's case remains active until appeals have been exhausted. A Minneapolis police spokesman declined to comment.