PEARLAND, Texas – The City of Pearland will be the final resting place of George Floyd. His private funeral is set for 11 a.m. on June 9 at the Fountain of Praise Church (13950 Hillcroft Ave. in Houston).
Floyd’s procession will be escorted by the Houston Police Department into Pearland following the funeral. Pearland city officials expect Floyd’s body to arrive in Pearland at Houston Memorial Gardens located at 2426 Cullen Blvd. sometime after 1 p.m., however, there is not an exact or more accurate time.
The public is encouraged to visit Houston Transtar for current traffic information. Floyd will travel the last mile of the funeral procession in a horse-drawn carriage.
At this time, officials said it is nearly impossible to estimate how many attendees will be in Pearland to view the procession, following the private funeral service. The public is welcome to pay respects at public locations on the route, including on sidewalks. Barricades are being placed along the procession route on Cullen where the horse-drawn carriage will travel to prevent vehicular access and pedestrian access to the roadway. These barricades will help keep visitors safe and help maintain traffic safety.
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Attendees are requested to stay behind the barricades to provide a safe travel location for the procession and to ensure the safety of Floyd’s family. With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, attendees are also encouraged to wear masks and maintain social distancing from those not known to them as much as possible.
In preparation for this national event, the Pearland Police Department said they have been working with other city departments and law enforcement partners to help ensure this is a respectful time for Floyd’s family and safe for those coming to mourn or show support. During this time, the community and visitors will also see a large number of Texas State troopers in the area helping with traffic control and road closures. State troopers will close roadways at locations at the request of Pearland. A map on Pearland PD’s Twitter shows those roadways that will be closed. Roadways are tentatively scheduled to be closed starting at 1 p.m., however, depending on the number of visitors, pedestrian safety closures may occur earlier.
George Floyd’s Entombment: Mr. Floyd he will be entombed at the Houston Memorial Gardens in Pearland. More details, including traffic plans and visitor/attendee information, located here: https://t.co/ee4AzG46Rg pic.twitter.com/7GRMmcfC9c
— Pearland Police (@PearlandPD) June 8, 2020
For attendees, there will be a limited amount of public parking near the area of the cemetery. People attending are encouraged to carpool with their families to limit the number of vehicles. Pearland ISD is permitting the use of the front parking lots of Dawson High School (2050 Cullen Blvd.), Silverlake Church (1865 Cullen Blvd.) is permitting some parking at their location and some parking has been reserved at the Hickory Slough Sportsplex (7600 Hughes Ranch Rd.) and additional parking may be available at Tom Bass Park, but attendees should check with Harris County for further information. In addition to this parking, there will be a limited number of portable restrooms in the area, some near Dawson High School and some near the west side of Cullen and the cemetery.
Visitors are encouraged to wear light clothing, wear sunscreen, drink plenty of fluids and attend to restroom needs prior to coming to the location as public restrooms are very limited.
“We ask for the public’s assistance in making this a peaceful process, urge patience to, through, and from the procession and that we all remember Mr. Floyd’s family in our actions on this day,” Officer James Wells with Pearland PD said.