George Floyd sobs 'please don't shoot me' as cop aims gun before Chauvin kneels on him in shocking new video
A new police bodycam footage of George Floyd being arrested by Minneapolis police officers on May 25 shows him terrified and pleading for his life as he asks an officer to not shoot him. Floyd, an unarmed Black man, died in police custody on the ill-fated day, triggering widespread protests in the country against police brutality and systemic racism.
Floyd, in the recent video released by a judge, can be seen begging for his life to be spared as former officer Thomas Lane points a gun at him. Four Minneapolis police officers involved in Floyd's brutal death were fired on May 26 after a video of the incident went viral on social media. The footage showed Floyd pleading with officers as one of them, Derek Chauvin, knelt on his neck while the 46-year-old pleaded with them to let him stand because he could not breathe. He asked them to allow him to breathe and a few minutes later he became unconscious. All four officers were later arrested in the case.
The new video shows the moment right after Floyd was ordered to step out of his car after claims that he had attempted to use a counterfeit $20 note at a grocery store. The father-of-one, in the video, can be heard saying: "Mr. Officer, please don't shoot me." He also tells the officer that his mother had just died as he pleads with Lane to not pull the trigger.
The 46-year-old is then yanked out of the driver's seat of his car by the officer as another screams at him to not resist the arrest. He is then placed in handcuffs. Two officers, Lane and J Alexander Kueng, then walk Floyd across the street and attempt to put him in the back of a police SUV. The clip also shows Floyd telling the officers that he is not resisting the arrest and claims that he did not do anything before breaking into sobs. He then cries loudly and tells officers that he is afraid of getting in the back of the SUV because he's claustrophobic. Floyd also says that he is "going to die in here" as they force him into the back of the police vehicle.
He then tells officers that he is scared and anxious, he begins screaming and crying as they force him into the car, which leads to a massive struggle and Floyd ends up on the pavement. This is when Chauvin Kneels on Floyd's neck for over seven minutes and does not remove his knee despite Floyd pleading for air to breathe. Floyd reportedly told Chauvin that he could not breathe at least 25 times. In his autopsy, death was ruled as homicide.
Chauvin, who was arrested four days after Floyd's death, is currently charged with second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. Meanwhile, the rest of the officers, Lane, Kueng and Tou Thao, have also been charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and manslaughter. All of them are currently out on bail except Chauvin.