[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: 1) by khallow on Thursday August 06 2020, @02:08PM (2 children)
Similarly, "underlying medical conditions" ignores that a lot of people, perhaps even most people, have them. Genuine procedure would already take that into account rather than assume everyone is in perfect health.
On a final point, the ambulance arrived six minutes [nypost.com] after it was called. Allegedly, Floyd was still breathing at the time - which I admit casts strong doubt on a first degree murder case. Given how fast they hustled him to the hospital, there wouldn't have been much time to conspire to cover it up.
That same link observes this:
What's the procedure for someone who receives 10 prior conduct complaints, hmmm? Given how blatantly Chauvin killed Floyd, it sounds like Chauvin wasn't expecting disciplinary action any time soon, no matter what he did.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by looorg on Thursday August 06 2020, @02:31PM (1 child)
A complaint is not the same thing as something wrong actually happened or took place. It's not uncommon for people to file complaints against officers just cause they can or they somehow feel slighted about something in regards to their arrests. That is not to say that some of the complaints can't be true. But if it's over a 19 year period getting a complaint every other year isn't that much. Over that time period they would also have been investigated and since he never faced any disciplinary actions those complaints were considered to be unfounded. Not necessarily evidence of a coverup of any kind.
A lot of the things that happened after the incident seem to be somewhat odd. I don't think anything at the scene was out of order tho. That they change the charges afterwards could just be a matter of new information being available. It is not exactly unheard of or something that doesn't happen in other cases to.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Friday August 07 2020, @04:10AM