Abolish, Defund, and the Prospects of Citizen Oversight after George Floyd

On May 25, 2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, George Floyd was taken into police custody after a store clerk reported the possible passing of a counterfeit 20 bill and public intoxication. Within minutes, Floyd was handcuffed and pinned face-down by two officers while a third, Officer Derek Chauvin, kneeled on his neck. Despite persistent pleading by Floyd and several bystanders saying that "he's not breathing" and to "get the fuck off him, " Chauvin refused to move and took Floyd's life. Protests erupted across the United States-and the world-for several weeks demanding that Floyd's murderers be held accountable. These collective actions ushered in an urgent call to defund and abolish the police and sparked unprecedented and widespread efforts to reimagine U. S. policing as we know it.