Derek Chauvin told George Floyd to shut up as he pleaded 20 times for breath: 'It takes a lot of oxygen to talk'
Former Minneapolis cop Derek Chauvin had knelt on the neck of 46-year-old George Floyd for almost eight minutes despite Floyd pleading for his life and saying that he could not breathe. It has now been reported that Chauvin told Floyd that "it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk". This was revealed in the recently released transcripts from the body camera video recordings from two cops involved in the arrest and killing of Floyd, New York Post reveals.
Chauvin was charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter while the other three former Minneapolis police officers — Tou Thao, Thomas Lane and J Alexander Kueng — were charged with aiding and abetting murder.
The transcripts show that Floyd told the officers 20 times that he could not breathe. After being handcuffed and placed on the ground, Floyd had said, "You’re going to kill me, man," the transcript from Lane's body camera revealed. Chauvin continued to press his knee into Floyd's neck told him, "Then stop talking, stop yelling. It takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk." The transcripts were made public on Wednesday, July 8, as part of Lane's request to have charges dropped.
Lane was the cop who had held on to Floyd's legs while making the arrest and had twice asked if officers should roll Floyd onto his side. The transcripts show that Chauvin said no. According to Lane's attorney Earl Gray, there is no probable cause to charge him. "Lane had no basis to believe Chauvin was wrong in making that decision," he wrote. Many bystanders had tried to intervene and had repeatedly told officers to check Floyd's pulse. J Keung had checked Floyd for a pulse and had said, "I can't find one," to which Chauvin had responded "Huh?"
Floyd, who was restrained for allegedly trying to use a forged $20 note, had repeatedly told the officers that he couldn't breathe but none of them moved. He eventually lost consciousness and died and the video of the horrific incident went viral across the globe, sparking outrage against extreme police brutality and disregard for Black lives.
We had earlier reported that Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo had said that Chauvin knew exactly what he was doing as he had undergone specific training on preventing "positional asphyxiation" or suffocation. In a statement, Arradondo said, "Mr George Floyd's tragic death was not due to a lack of training — the training was there. Chauvin knew what he was doing. The officers knew what was happening — one intentionally caused it and the others failed to prevent it. This was murder — it wasn't a lack of training."
The Minneapolis Department had told CNN that officers Chauvin and Tou Thao had both received department training on preventing "positional asphyxiation" or suffocation with people who are being restrained in a face-down position. Lawyer for the Floyd family, Benjamin Crump, said, "Beyond doubt, he would be alive today if not for the pressure applied to his neck by officer Derek Chauvin and the strain on his body by two other officers. The ambulance was his hearse."