George Floyd: Video shows Minneapolis police drag him out of car before cop kneels on his neck for 8 minutes
A new video of two Minneapolis police officers' fatal confrontation with George Floyd shows how they forcefully removed him from his car moments before one of them forcefully knelt on his neck and caused his death. MEA WorldWide (MEAWW) previously reported that the altercation had started after police responded to a "forgery in progress" at the 3700 Block of Chicago Avenue South and found Floyd, who is said to have matched the suspect's description, sitting in his car.
Police said they found him to be "under the influence" at the scene and ordered him to step out, only for him to resist the responding officers. "He was ordered to step from his car. After he got out, he physically resisted officers," police spokesman John Elder said in a statement. "Officers were able to get the suspect into handcuffs and noted he appeared to be suffering medical distress."
However, footage published by local news station KMSP which appears to have been filmed from inside a car behind Floyd's vehicle shows one of the officers wrestling with him and trying to force him out. The other officer then walks over to the driver's side of the car to assist in ejecting Floyd from the vehicle and handcuffing him.
Floyd can be heard pleading with the officers throughout the struggle, though it is unclear from the video what exactly he was telling him. What followed after left the entire country disturbed and questioning how such an incident could occur even as they struggled to comprehend the death of Ahmaud Arbery. One of the officers can be seen keeping his knee pressed onto Floyd's neck even as he begged to be let go because he couldn't breathe. "Please," the man can be heard pleading. "Please, please I can't breathe."
The officer was unmoved and continued to kneel on Floyd's neck for several minutes even as he moaned in pain. He doesn't heed witnesses who ask him to go easy on the man either. "Bro, you've got him down at least let him breathe, man." one man says. "He's not even resisting arrest ... he's human, bro."
One of the officers then snarkily replies, "This is why you don't do drugs, kids."
"This ain't about drugs bro! He's human," the man hits back. "You're enjoying it. Look at you. Your body language, you bum. You know that's bogus right now."
Around four minutes into the video, Floyd loses consciousness and then becomes unresponsive. He was rushed to Hennepin County Medical Center by ambulance, but could not be saved and was declared dead. The incident quickly caught national attention, with Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey criticizing the officers' handling of the altercation and saying it was "completely and utterly messed up."
"For five minutes, we watched as a white officer pressed his knee into the neck of a black man. For five minutes," he said. "When you hear someone calling for help, you are supposed to help. This officer failed in the most basic human sense."
Cardi B, Diddy, Ciara, Viola Davis, and Demi Lovato were amongst the celebrities who expressed their outrage over his death, and called for the officers to not just be terminated but also be charged with murder. The FBI has confirmed it is investigating the man's death with the aid of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. All body camera footage has been turned over to the BCA, which is in charge of investigating most police shootings and in-custody deaths.
The four officers involved in the altercation have since been fired, with Frey praising the decision. "Four responding MPD officers involved in the death of George Floyd have been terminated," he tweeted. "This is the right call.."
It is still unclear if they will be charged in Floyd's death.