© 2024 Public Radio East
Public Radio For Eastern North Carolina 89.3 WTEB New Bern 88.5 WZNB New Bern 91.5 WBJD Atlantic Beach 90.3 WKNS Kinston 88.5 WHYC Swan Quarter 89.9 W210CF Greenville
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
89.3 WTEB operating at reduced power

At 7 Years Old, Gianna Floyd Asks In A Court Video How Her Father Was Hurt

Gianna Floyd, the 7-year-old daughter of George Floyd, appears in a video played Friday during victim impact statements in the sentencing of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in Minneapolis.
Court TV via AP/Pool
Gianna Floyd, the 7-year-old daughter of George Floyd, appears in a video played Friday during victim impact statements in the sentencing of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in Minneapolis.

Updated June 25, 2021 at 6:09 PM ET

Wearing a gray headband with a bow on it, George Floyd's daughter Gianna told the court that she missed her father.

In a two-minute prerecorded video, 7-year-old Gianna answered questions from a woman off camera.

"I ask about him all the time," Gianna said. She then explained what she asks about: "How did my dad get hurt?"

The video was the first of four victim impact statements in Friday's sentencing of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer convicted in April of murdering George Floyd on Memorial Day 2020.

In the video, the woman asked Gianna if she wished her father was still here.

"Yeah. But he is," Gianna replied.

"Through his spirit?" the woman asked.

"Yes," Gianna said.

She said when she is reunited with her father someday, she wants to play with him.

"I want to play with him, have fun. Go on a plane ride. And that's it."

"We used to have dinner meals every single night before we went to bed. My daddy always used to help me brush my teeth," Gianna said, smiling at the memory.

How do you hope the world remembers him? the woman asked.

"Well, they help him because of those mean people did something to him."

Gianna said if she had the chance to speak to her father now, she would tell him she loves him and she misses him.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Laurel Wamsley is a reporter for NPR's News Desk. She reports breaking news for NPR's digital coverage, newscasts, and news magazines, as well as occasional features. She was also the lead reporter for NPR's coverage of the 2019 Women's World Cup in France.