George Floyd

An employee at Cup Foods at 3759 Chicago Avenue in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States called the Minneapolis Police Department to report a customer who was trying to buy cigarettes with a fake $20 bill on May 25, 2020. That day, George Floyd was arrested and he died.

The number of protests in the U.S. caused by the death of Floyd keeps increasing. Recently, Cup Foods owner Mahmoud “Mike” Abumayyaleh shared his thoughts about the controversy.

Cup Foods is a convenience store, a phone shop and meat market that serves halal meat and hot food. The late Hamadeh Abumayyaleh started the business in 1989 and it is now run by his sons including Mike.

As a state policy, businesses in Minneapolis are required to call the police when they receive counterfeit. But Mike wishes the phone call to the police that led to the fatal arrest of Floyd was never made.

“We want to share our feelings about what transpired and led to the death of George Floyd,” Mike told The Grio. “He was murdered and executed in cold blood. Thankfully, it was recorded and there needs to be some accountability of those officers who were involved.”

In the community that surrounds Cup Foods, white, African-American and Hispanic residents who live next door to each other. Mike said the community welcomed them when Cup Foods opened and they know people there by first name.

“We’ve always enjoyed being here,” Mike said. “The people have always had our backs. They respect us and we respect them.”

It was former Minneapolis Police Department officers Derek Chauvin, 44, Thomas Lane, 37, Tou Thao, 34 and J. Alexander Kueng, 26, responded to the call made by the Cup Foods employee. Chauvin was caught on tape kneeling on Floyd’s neck for a total of 8 minutes and 46 seconds and more than an hour later, the latter was pronounced at the Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis.

Charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter, Chauvin is currently detained in Minnesota Correctional Facility in Oak Park Heights, Minnesota. Meanwhile, Lane, Thao and Kueng have yet to be charged.