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.
Chauvin and a fourth officer, Tou Thao, were called in to assist. All four were fired the day after Floyd’s death.
Chauvin, 44, has been charged with Floyd’s murder and the other three face charges of aiding and abetting murder. The events have led to months of Black Lives Matter protests throughout the country over police racism and brutality.
The two officers’ bodycam videos have been filed with Hennepin County District Court by Lane’s defense attorney.
It is clear from the video that Floyd was not trying to run away – he had plenty of time to leave the scene before police arrived. But instead he decided to sit in his car with two friends, giving the cops the opportunity to approach.
The videos begin with Lane, 37, and Kueng, 26 — both in their first week as Minneapolis police officers — entering Cup Foods. A staff member rushes up to them waving the banknote. ‘Before they drive off. He’s parked right here. It’s a fake bill from the gentleman,’ he tells the cops.
Lane and Kueng then both approach Floyd’s blue Mercedes SUV on the other side of the street. Lane goes to the driver’s side where Floyd is sitting at the wheel and Kueng approaches the passenger side, where Floyd’s ex, Shawanda Hill is in the back seat and a friend, Maurice Hall, is in the front.
Lane is seen knocking on the car window with his flashlight, but Floyd does not immediately open the door. Once the door is open, Lane immediately pulls out his handgun and points it straight at Floyd’s head.
‘Hey man, I’m sorry,’ Floyd says and apologizes again before Lane gets belligerent.
‘Put your f***ing hands up right now! Let me see your other hand,’ the cop is heard saying.
Floyd does not immediately put his hands on the wheel. ‘Put your f***ing hand up there,’ Lane orders him. ‘Jesus Christ, keep your f**king hands on the wheel.’
Floyd tells the officer he had been shot before, and Lane replies: ‘Keep your f***ing hands on the wheel.’
Fully story over at The Daily Mail
