George Floyd’s Death: Police Body Camera Footage Emerges
New police body camera videos have been shown in which George Floyd is seen pleading with officers as they try to force him into their car, US media say.
They say Mr Floyd told the Minneapolis officers he could not breathe, asking if he could lie on the ground instead.
A district judge allowed news outlets to view the two videos, which show the clearest picture yet of Mr Floyd’s last moments in Minneapolis on 25 May.
All four officers involved have since been fired and charged over his death.
Derek Chauvin, who in a separate video filmed by eyewitnesses was seen kneeling on Mr Floyd’s neck for nearly eight minutes, has been charged with second-degree murder.
The three other officers – Thomas Lane, J Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao – have been charged with aiding and abetting murder.
The death of Mr Floyd, a 46-year-old unarmed African American, sparked huge protests across the US against police brutality and racism.
In a separate development on Wednesday, Mr Floyd’s family sued Minneapolis and the four policemen for wrongful death.
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump said the suit was seeking monetary damages on behalf of Mr Floyd’s children and siblings.
What did the videos show?
The body camera recordings from Mr Lane and Mr Kueng form part of the ongoing case against all four police officers.
Hennepin County District Judge Peter Cahill allowed news outlets to view the videos, which have so far not been made public. Previously, only transcripts were made public.
The videos begin as Minneapolis police officers Thomas Lane and J Alexander Kueng are seen responding to a call over a fake banknote being used at a local market, according to CNN.
It says that just seconds after speaking with a store employee, the officers were at the door of the car Mr Floyd was in and, after an initial knock with a torch, Mr Lane points a gun at Mr Floyd and orders him to put his hands up.
Mr Floyd is seen sobbing and pleading with the officers, and is then pulled from the vehicle as the officers struggle to handcuff him.
A big struggle ensues when Mr Lane and Mr Kueng attempt to put him in the police car.
Eventually, Mr Floyd falls out of the car, and it is at this point that the other two officers, Mr Thao and Mr Chauvin, appear in the videos, CNN reports.
They all try to restrain the suspect, and Mr Chauvin is later seen kneeling on Mr Floyd’s neck.
During this time Mr Floyd is heard more than 20 times telling the officers that he cannot breathe.
BBC
