Following the conviction of Derek Chauvin in the murder of George Floyd, a Texas public defender has submitted a pardon request for Floyd’s 2004 conviction for selling $10 worth of drugs.
ABC News reported the officer who arrested Floyd in 2004 is now under investigation after a deadly drug raid. Former officer Gerald Goines’ arrests are being carefully reexamined for impropriety. The cop arrested Floyd in 2004 for selling $10 worth of crack during a sting operation. The deceased man pleaded guilty to the charges and was sentenced to 10 months in a state jail.
Goines is now charged with two counts of felony murder and other charges in state and federal court in the 2019 killings of Dennis Tuttle and his wife, Rhogena Nicholas. Goines allegedly lied– claiming an informant gave him the information he used to obtain a warrant that allowed him to enter Tuttle and Nicholas’ home.
Later, the wayward lawman claimed there was no informant. Over 160 drug convictions connected to Goines have been dismissed as a result of the fatal drug raid.
Allison Mathis, a Harris County public defender, believes Goines falsified information and lied about a confidential informant in Floyd’s 2004 case as well. She said, “no one bothered to question the word of a veteran cop against that of a previously-convicted Black man.”
Members of Floyd’s family and friends offered letters in support of the posthumous pardon request. Another letter was submitted by counselor Maureen Bishop who worked with him in 2012. Bishop wrote that Floyd discussed the 2004 arrest by Goines and wondered why he “would lie about innocent people. He said that he had prayed to God that he would help him find peace to forgive him.”
The request also has the support of Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg, who said Floyd was convicted on the “lone word of Gerald Goines, a police officer we could no longer trust. We fully support a request that the governor now pardon George Floyd from that drug conviction.”
Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles did not reply to an email request for comment by ABC News. There is no word as to how long the board will deliberate this matter.
However, if a majority approves, the request would then be sent to Texas Governor Greg Abbot for final approval and signature.
