George Floyd’s funeral gets under way in Houston

(SOURCE: BBC News) – The funeral has begun in Houston, Texas, for African American George Floyd whose shocking death in police custody caused global outrage.

His coffin will be taken from a church where it was on public display on Monday, to be buried beside his mother.

Mr Floyd died in Minneapolis last month as a white police officer held a knee on his neck for nearly nine minutes, his final moments filmed on phones.

Four police officers involved have been sacked and charged over his death.

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden visited the dead man’s family to offer his sympathies on Monday.

Mr Floyd’s death was “one of the great inflection points in American history”, Mr Biden later told CBS news.

Mr Biden has sharply criticised President Donald Trump, who is standing for re-election as the Republican candidate on 3 November, accusing him at the weekend of making “despicable” speculative remarks about Mr Floyd .

The Democratic politician was himself recently accused of taking black American votes for granted when he said African Americans “ain’t black” if they even considered voting for Mr Trump.

What are the funeral plans?

A service will be held at the Fountain of Praise church, attended by some 500 guests including politicians and celebrities, CBS News reports.

The coffin will then be taken to a cemetery in Pearland, south of Houston. For the last mile of the procession it will be conveyed in a horse-drawn carriage.

Barriers have been erected along the route to allow members of the public to pay their respects safely as the procession passes.

Mr Floyd will be buried in a private ceremony in a grave beside that of his mother.

His body was on display at the church for six hours on Monday.

Memorial services were also held in Minneapolis and North Carolina, where Mr Floyd was born.

What did Biden say about Floyd’s family?

“They’re an incredible family, his little daughter was there, the one who said ‘daddy’s going to change the world’, and I think her daddy is going to change the world,” Mr Biden told CBS anchor Norah O’Donnell.

Floyd family spokesman Benjamin Crump, who tweeted a photo of the meeting said Mr Floyd’s relatives welcomed Mr Biden’s comments.

“That compassion meant the world to this grieving family,” he added.