Governor orders Oregon state flags flown at half-staff to honor George Floyd

The Oregon state flag will fly at half-staff Thursday in honor of George Floyd, a black man whose death in police custody sparked protests across the United States.

“We lower the Oregon flag to half-staff to recognize a profound loss of life, one that affects us all,” said Gov. Kate Brown in a written statement. “As we mourn the loss of George Floyd, let us remember the many Black lives that have been taken by unnecessary violence. And let us commit ourselves, and our country, to fundamental change.”

Brown appears to be the first U.S. governor to order state flags flown at half-staff in Floyd’s honor.

A memorial service for Floyd will be held Thursday in Minneapolis, McClatchy News previously reported. The Rev. Al Sharpton will deliver the eulogy at the service, which begins at 1 p.m. Eastern time. Later services also will be held in North Carolina and Texas.

The U.S. flag can only be flown at half-staff at the order of the president or governors, who can order it only for the death of a former or current state official or for a member of an active-duty member of the armed forces, according the U.S. Flag Code.

There are no national regulations on flying state flags at half-staff.

National protests erupted after video emerged of a Minneapolis police officer kneeling on Floyd’s neck as he begged for air during his May 25 arrest on suspicion of fraud.

Floyd, a black man, later died. The officer who kneeled on him, Derek Chauvin, who is white, and three other officers have been fired and charged in his death.

Some of the protests, which have spread from Minneapolis across the nation, have been blamed for clashes with police, fires and other unrest.

The violence and thefts involve much smaller groups at mostly peaceful gatherings, authorities say. The vast majority of the protesters across the nation have been “peaceful demonstrators calling for change,” law enforcement officials told ABC News.

Dozens of cities have enacted curfews and the National Guard has been mobilized in several states. President Donald Trump has threatened to use the military to quell violence.

This story was originally published June 4, 2020 at 9:21 AM.