Mother of George Floyd’s 6-year-old daughter: ‘He’ll never see her grow up’

Roxie Washington, the mother of George Floyd’s 6-year-old daughter Gianna, made her first public comments since Floyd’s death in police custody last week, addressing a crowd at Minneapolis City Hall on Tuesday.

Washington said Floyd moved from his hometown of Houston to Minnesota in search of a job, where he worked as a truck driver and a security guard at the local Salvation Army and a Latin nightclub.

“At the end of the day, [police officers] get to go home and be with their families,” Washington said. “Gianna does not have a father.  He’ll never see her grow up, graduate. He will never walk her down the aisle. If there’s a problem she’s having and needs her dad, she does not have that anymore.”

“I’m here for my baby, and I’m here for George, because I want justice for him,” Washington, visibly emotional, said Tuesday. “I want justice for him because he was good. He was good no matter what anyone thinks, and this is the proof that he was a good man,” she said, gesturing to Gianna before leaving the podium.

“I’m here for George because I want justice for him. I want justice for him because he was good,” says Roxie Washington, the mother of George Floyd’s daughter. https://t.co/1OPKxPkqSw pic.twitter.com/vGkL4hg08J

— ABC News (@ABC) June 2, 2020

Former NBA player Stephen Jackson, a childhood friend of Floyd’s, also attended the press conference, vowing to be a part of Gianna’s life. Floyd’s “whole reason to come [to Minneapolis] was to be a better father, be a better provider. He was doing his part,” Jackson said, according to USA Today.

“I’m through crying. I’m ready to fight. I’m ready to stand for my brother. I’m ready to get justice for my brother,” he added.

Floyd died after a former Minneapolis police officer, Derek Chauvin, knelt on his neck for several minutes despite Floyd’s repeated protests that he could not breathe. Floyd’s death has sparked outrage and protests in nearly every major U.S. city.

Chauvin has been arrested and charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.