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Jurors at George Floyd murder trial shown police bodycam videos


Jurors at the murder trial of ex-Minneapolis cop Derek Chauvin were shown dramatic footage of George Floyd’s death from the bodycams worn by officers at the scene — except for Chauvin’s.

Chauvin’s body-worn camera fell to the ground shortly after he arrived at Chicago Avenue and East 38th Street on May 25, moments after he joined the scuffle with a handcuffed Floyd, videos played in Hennepin County District Court on Wednesday shows.

Disturbing footage from the three other since-fired officers — Thomas Lane, J. Alexander Keung, and Tou Thao — shows Floyd pleading with cops not to put him in a police SUV after he was arrested for passing a counterfeit $20 bill at the Cup Foods convenience store.

“Please, please, man,” Floyd is heard saying on Lane’s bodycam. “Please. I’m claustrophobic.”

“Why’s this going on,” Floyd says. “Why you doing me like that?”

“I’ll roll down the windows,” Lane responds.

But Floyd continues to plead with Lane and Keung — and continues to scuffle when Chauvin and Thao arrive on the scene and join the fray.

George Floyd speaks with a police officer during his arrest and before he was placed on the ground on May 25, 2020 in a police body camera video played in court.
George Floyd speaks with a police officer during his arrest and before he was placed on the ground on May 25, 2020 in a police body camera video played in court.
via REUTERS

“I’m not a bad guy,” Floyd is heard saying. “Dang, man. I’m not that kind of guy.”

Floyd is then seen handcuffed and pinned to the ground, with Chauvin’s knee pressed on his neck for nearly nine minutes — and kept him pinned even after paramedics arrived and are seen taking Floyd’s pulse.

At one point during the struggle, one of the officers is seen on Keung’s bodycam footage grabbing Floyd’s wrist, and appears to say, “I’m not getting a pulse.”

At another point one of the officers is heard suggesting, “roll him on his side?”

Two of the bodycam videos — the one worn by Lane and the one worn by Thao — were released by authorities last year.

Chauvin is on trial on second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter in the case, and could face up to 40 years in prison if convicted.

The three other officers are due to stand trial on charges of aiding and abetting second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter at a later date.

Earlier in the day, Hennepin County District Judge Peter Cahill halted the proceedings when one of the jurors became temporarily ill.

Prosecutors also released surveillance footage from inside the Cup Foods convenience store for the first time, showing Floyd using a phony $20 bill to buy cigarettes.



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