A Texas board says George Floyd should be posthumously pardoned for a 2004 drug charge because it is linked to an ex-Houston police officer accused of making bogus arrests.
It will be up to Republican Gov. Greg Abbott to decide whether to accept or reject the recommendation, according to The Daily Mail.
Gerald Goines, the Houston officer involved in Floyd’s 2004 arrest, faces murder and misconduct charges after a botched 2019 “no-knock” raid on a home that allegedly was based on false information.
Dennis Tuttle, 59, and his wife Rhogena Nicholas, 58 were killed after Tuttle exchanged gunfire with the police.
Investigators who looked into the raid said the incident raised questions about the officer’s other arrests. The Daily Mail reports more than 160 convictions tied to his work have been dismissed.
Floyd, who grew up in Houston, was arrested by Officer Goines in February 2004 and accused of selling $10 worth of crack in a police sting, The Associated Press reported. Floyd pleaded guilty to a drug charge and was sentenced to 10 months in jail.
Floyd, who was Black, was killed last year when a White Minneapolis police officer kneeled on his neck for more than nine minutes. His murder inspired massive racial justice protests in 2020.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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