George Floyd was being detained because a Minneapolis convenience store employee called 911, reporting that he had just used what they believed was a counterfeit 20‑dollar bill to buy cigarettes and that he appeared intoxicated.

Quick Scoop: What led to the arrest?

On the evening of May 25, 2020, George Floyd bought cigarettes at Cup Foods, a convenience store in Minneapolis.

The cashier believed the 20‑dollar bill he used was fake and, after checking with a manager, the store called police to report a suspected counterfeit bill and that the customer seemed drunk or “not in control” of himself.

Police officers were dispatched on a “forgery in progress” call, which in practice meant they were responding to a non‑violent, low‑level suspected offense involving a fake bill.

They found Floyd seated in a vehicle near the store, ordered him out, and then moved to place him under arrest in connection with the reported counterfeit bill and his behavior at the scene.

What exactly were police told?

Key points from the 911 report and later court records:

  • The store employee said a customer had used a “phony” or counterfeit 20‑dollar bill to buy cigarettes.
  • The employee described the customer as a tall Black man and said he appeared drunk or under the influence and refused to return to the store when asked.
  • This information led officers to treat it as a possible forgery case, with a potential element of disorderly conduct because of how the customer was acting.

Legally, knowingly passing counterfeit money can be charged as a crime, but the seriousness often depends on intent, pattern, and amount.

In many everyday cases, officers might simply investigate, question the person, or refer it for later charging instead of escalating force.

How did the situation escalate?

From timelines reconstructed in news and trial records:

  1. Officers Thomas Lane and J.A. Kueng arrived first and approached Floyd in his car.
  1. Lane briefly drew his gun as Floyd appeared startled, then holstered it when Floyd showed his hands.
  1. Floyd was handcuffed and brought to sit against a wall, then officers told him he was under arrest and walked him toward their squad car.
  1. Floyd said he was claustrophobic and anxious and resisted getting into the back of the car by stiffening and falling to the ground.
  1. Derek Chauvin and Tou Thao arrived as backup; Chauvin ended up kneeling on Floyd’s neck for over nine minutes while Floyd was handcuffed on the street, saying repeatedly that he could not breathe.

Seventeen minutes after the first police car arrived, Floyd was unconscious under the weight of multiple officers and showed no signs of life, later being pronounced dead at a hospital.

Why this became a defining case

Although the original reason for the police contact was a suspected counterfeit bill and concern about intoxication, the way the arrest was carried out turned the incident into a global flashpoint.

Video of a handcuffed Floyd on the ground, with an officer’s knee on his neck as he said “I can’t breathe,” drove massive protests and debates about policing, race, and the use of force in the United States and beyond.

Medical examiners ultimately ruled Floyd’s death a homicide related to cardiopulmonary arrest while being restrained, with neck compression a key factor.

For many people, the contrast between the minor alleged offense (a single suspected fake $20) and the lethal level of restraint encapsulated concerns about excessive and discriminatory policing.

Mini FAQ

Was it proven the bill was definitely counterfeit?
Reports and court documents consistently describe it as a suspected or fake $20 bill, but the public focus has been on the response, not on forensic details of the bill itself.

Was George Floyd’s past record the reason for this specific arrest?
The officers were dispatched for the 911 call about the suspected counterfeit bill and his behavior that evening; his prior criminal history in another state was not the original basis for this encounter.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.