Police camera video of George Floyd’s arrest and his chilling final moments has now been made public. The video, about an hour in length, comes from the body cameras of former officers Thomas Lane and J. Alexander Kueng. The two were the first to arrive on the scene following a complaint that Floyd had tried to pass a fake $20 bill to buy cigarettes at Cup Foods, a store in Minneapolis.
The footage begins at the store where Floyd allegedly tried to buy goods with a fake $20 bill. After about 36 seconds, 46-year-old Floyd is told to get out of his car as he is approached by the officers. He is then seen pleading with the officers in the minutes leading up to his death.
Floyd died after another officer, Derek Chauvin, knelt on his neck for several minutes while cuffed. Around 16 minutes into the footage, Floyd says the words: “Man, I can’t breathe.” Paramedics later arrived. The footage ends with the police gathering further details from the store.
The videos were filed with the court last month by Lane’s attorney as evidence supporting a motion to dismiss the charges against his client, the CNN reported. Only transcripts from the tape were released but a judge later allowed journalists to view the footage by appointment. Media outlets subsequently called for the release of the videos until they became available Monday after a Hennepin County judge ordered them released.
Floyd’s killing on May 25 sparked protests across the U.S. His death is just one example of the ongoing systemic racism in America where black people find themselves being killed during encounters with white police officers.
Kueng and Lane, along with another officer, Thomas Thao, are charged with aiding and abetting in the crime. Chauvin, who knelt on Floyd’s neck, is charged with second-degree murder, third-degree murder and manslaughter.
The body camera footage below from the two officers capturing Floyd’s final moments is unedited. It also contains graphic language and material that is disturbing: