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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: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 05 2020, @05:26PM (2 children)
Watching the videos is the best chance to understand whether a protest worth supporting. The video of Tamir Rice very clearly showed why it was that the cops were justified in shooting him. If you take people's word for it, you'd think that he was a little boy that was executed for no reason by the cops. The reality from the video is rather clear, he was lowering what appeared to be a real gun in the direction of the cops and they were fully justified in shooting him. Unfortunately, cops don't benefit from the ability to analyze things after the fact. Had he not been waving the toy around, he likely wouldn't have even had the cops called in the first place. Had he lowered the gun before the cops showed up or, better, dropped it, the worst he likely would have dealt with was being arrested. But, he lowered it in their direction and got shot as a result. But, people still invoke his name as if the shooting could have been avoided by the cops. The shooting was available, but by Tamir or those around him, not the cops that had mere seconds to determine whether or not he was armed.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 05 2020, @06:40PM
Tamir Rice was asking to get shot. His stupid mom should have taught him better. It looks like he was pointing the toy gun at white joggers and that's probably why someone called the cops. I mention the race of the joggers, b/c i suspect their race had something to do with why that little monkey was threatening them.
All that being said those cops are pretty stupid. They pulled up way too close and put themselves in a much more dangerous position, which makes them much more likely to pull the trigger. They could have stopped the car 10-20 yards further back, Took cover behind the engine block, and been able to safely diffuse the situation.
They should use shot guns instead of pistols when a call comes in regarding gun play. Or rifles when the situation demands it. If the perp has a real gun and starts shooting, they would be in a much better position to shoot the perp without having stray bullets flying all over the place like they usually do. They would also be even more confident in the initial confrontation as you're going to hit the perp with a full length stock 12 gauge and he won't shoot back after that.
(Score: 5, Informative) by Thexalon on Wednesday August 05 2020, @07:09PM
Tamir Rice was killed by an officer who a nearby police chief had described as completely unsuited for police work and utterly lacking in trigger discipline. There were less than 2 seconds between the arrival of the cops and that officer opening fire, risking not only Rice but everyone that happened to be in the vicinity of this encounter in the park that day. As in, what he probably heard was something along the lines of (sirens and car noises) "DROP YOUR WEAP-"BANG!
And then, while he was lying unconscious but still alive, they decided that securing the scene was more important than attempting any kind of first aid or radioing for EMS, which strongly suggests that they at the very least didn't care whether he lived or died. And then, when Tamir's sister came running towards the scene, they slammed her to the pavement, handcuffed her, and threw her into a patrol car.
Oh yes they do. They absolutely analyze things after the fact when they write their reports. And in this case and many other cases where cops have killed civilians under suspicious circumstances, they fabricated a story about what had happened, and left out the part about roughing up the sister (who, need I remind you, had committed no crime). And it turned out that the video that you're referring to directly contradicted the officer's report (which is considered sworn testimony) about what had happened in numerous ways.
The other thing I'm going to have to challenge is the idea that a suspect with no known mental illnesses would threaten a cop with a toy gun. That's something cop defenders repeatedly state as fact, even though it makes zero sense for someone to try it, because regardless of what the cop thinks is happening, the person pulling the toy gun knows that toy gun won't help them at all and will give the cop every reason to shoot. Also worth mentioning here is that if someone has a toy gun in their belt or waistband but not in their hand, in order to comply with an order to drop said toy gun they have to pull it from their belt or waistband and then drop it, and of course the move to do that could also be interpreted by a trigger-happy cop as drawing the weapon to attack the cops. And that's assuming the toy gun isn't, as was pretty common practice before widespread video, something the cop brought with them to plant on people they'd illegally shot.
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.