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[Editor's note: This is a follow-on to the story George Floyd Dead - Officers Fired and Charged - Discuss it Here that we ran on June 2, 2020. With 385 comments, it was the 5th-most-discussed story in the history of SoylentNews. All four of the officers involved were fired from the police force and are facing charges for the death.
New body-cam footage has come to light, exclusively on DailyMail.com. The two videos there fill in gaps from the previously-released footage.
In light of the interest when we first ran the story, the continuing "Black Lives Matter" protests, and the information this brings to light, I have decided to run this story.
NOTE: Each news organization has their own "take" on the killing. This coverage from DailyMail.com is no exception; read it with a heaping helping of the proverbial "grain of salt". It has been excerpted here without elision so as to not add any additional "spin".
WARNING: Please be aware the video content is disturbing; viewer discretion is advised. --martyb]
Submitted via IRC for SoyCow1234
Police Bodycam Footage Shows George Floyd Arrest In Detail:
WARNING: DISTURBING CONTENT. DailyMail.com has obtained video from the body cameras of two officers involved in the arrest of George Floyd that ultimately led to his death on May 25 in Minneapolis.
[...] Bodycam footage from two cops accused in the murder of George Floyd is revealed exclusively by DailyMail.com today — and it shows a rookie officer terrifying Floyd by pointing a handgun at his head and another callously picking a pebble from the squad car tire just inches from the dying man and seconds before he draws his last breath.
The tapes show in minute detail how a very distressed Floyd begs 'Mr. Officer, please don't shoot me. Please man,' before the struggle that ended with his death on May 25.
It also shows how belligerent cops cursed at and manhandled the sobbing suspect, ignoring his pleas for compassion.
Floyd resisted as the cops tried to force him into the back of the car, telling them he suffers from claustrophobia and anxiety and how Officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes, leading to his death, ignoring Floyd's repeated cries of 'I can't breathe.'
Floyd is even heard predicting his own death. 'I'll probably just die this way,' he says.
Transcripts from the videos were released in mid-July but a judge in Minneapolis had ruled the video could only be viewed in the courthouse, meaning few people have had the chance to watch the powerful images.
But the footage has now been leaked to DailyMail.com so the world can finally see the tragedy of Floyd's last minutes as the cops were mindless of Floyd's anguish.
The footage includes more than 18 minutes from Officer Alex Kueng's bodycam and 10 minutes from Officer Thomas Lane. They were the first two cops to arrive on the scene after a complaint that Floyd had attempted to pass a fake $20 bill to buy cigarettes at Cup Foods, a store in the Powderhorn Park section of Minneapolis.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Wednesday August 05 2020, @03:18PM (5 children)
I'll second that. The moment you show fear, the predator knows he has you whipped. You may be ready to piss your pants in fear, but you CANNOT allow the attacker to know that you are afraid. In this case, George Floyd let the cops know that he was afraid, and that he had a weakness. That all worked against him.
In an ideal world, the cops would have allowed Floyd to sit up against that building, and waited for the ambulance to take him away. At no point did Floyd threaten or strike out at officers, or anyone else. He just didn't want to get in the car, and clearly stated that he had psychiatric problems. Not to mention, his girl friend told the cops he had mental problems.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by JoeMerchant on Wednesday August 05 2020, @03:48PM (2 children)
There's all kinds of problems, and not showing fear isn't always something you can pull off.
Non-compliance with instruction is the basis of every single "exciting" scene in the COPS TV show, when you don't do what the cop says to do, and immediately, they get VERY insecure, and that's not good for you. Just a speeding stop, but I had a highway patrol up behind me on a one-lane blind full speed (65mph) exit ramp, I continued driving until we got to somewhere that traffic would at least see us with time to react before I stopped - that cop was really agitated when he came to my window, worried that I might be trying to get off the expressway and lead him on a chase through the city. "Sorry man, just trying to find a safe place for you to get out..." he REALLY didn't care about getting hit by random passing cars, he was all about having his blue-lights obeyed ASAP, particularly when approaching a city exit ramp. I think he also wrote me a warning for 90/55... which is pretty rare to get stopped by FHP and not get a ticket with points and fine.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 05 2020, @05:22PM (1 child)
If you don't like what the cops are ordering, there's a process to deal with that later. Unless what they're ordering is clearly illegal, you're better off just filing a complaint and lawsuit after the fact. Sure, you don't have to comply with illegal orders, but unless you're an attorney you may well not know what is and isn't going to hold up in court. Best thing is to just do what you're told and file suit later on if it's really illegal.
In practice, if this is something that is happening regularly, you should probably be rethinking your life choices and learn how to drive properly.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Thexalon on Wednesday August 05 2020, @06:45PM
That will do a lot of good for a friend of mine who was pulled over for doing 61 in a 60 zone where lots of other drivers were going 70+. Apparently the cop thought that a guy dressed business-casual near an office park at around 8:15 AM on a weekday, saying he was on his way to work, was "suspicious". Another time, he was arrested for being the victim of a crime, namely being assaulted with a knife in front of dozens of witnesses who agreed that he was the victim (the person who had attacked him was never arrested or charged). And this sort of thing happened frequently enough that he was kinda used to it.
I guess he should have rethought his life choice of "being born black".
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 05 2020, @09:57PM
Which is why sociopaths commonly test your body language by invading your personal space. That's only half the story because they'll also play the victim looking to pray on your sympathy. Based on these latest Floyd videos, I'd have suspected the latter - that I was dealing with someone playing passive aggressive games.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 06 2020, @12:02PM
You don't need an ideal world for that, just a humane one.