'Tell my kids I love them': George Floyd's last words to cops revealed in harrowing bodycam transcript
A newly released transcript has revealed what George Floyd said in his last moments as former cop Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for almost nine minutes despite the former saying he could not breathe. 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.
Now transcripts from the body cameras of officers involved -- Derek Chauvin, Tou Thao, Thomas Lane, and J Alexander Kueng -- have revealed the exact words that were said during the time of the incident. As per the transcripts, 46-year-old Floyd had said, "Oh my god. I can’t believe this. I can’t believe this. Mama, I love you...Tell my kids I love them. I’m dead." Floyd called for his mother and children many times while repeatedly telling officers he was unable to breathe. Floyd's last words were, "They're going to kill me. They're going to kill me. I can't breathe," the transcripts revealed.
He eventually lost consciousness and died. The video of the horrific incident went viral across the globe, sparking outrage against extreme police brutality and disregard for Black lives. It has also been reported that Chauvin told Floyd that "it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk." 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 showed.
(Hennepin County Sheriff's Office)
The transcripts were made public on Wednesday, July 8, as part of Lane's request to have the charges against him 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 the onto his side. Chauvin declined and said no to Lane. Lane's attorney, Earl Gray says that there is no probable cause to charge him. "Lane had no basis to believe Chauvin was wrong in making that decision," he wrote. Horrified bystanders continuously yelled at the officers to move and check his pulse. One of the officers, J. Keung, checked Floyd's pulse and then said, "I can't find one" to which Chauvin responded saying, "Huh?"
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."
Arradondo added how the Minneapolis Police Department "went beyond the requirements" of a 2013 settlement that required all officers to go through training on the dangers of positional asphyxiation. They had provided adequate training on the subject and also changed its policies in 2014 to "explicitly require moving an arrestee from a prone position to a recovery position when the maximal restraint technique is used and requires continuous monitoring of an arrestee's condition." Chauvin was initially charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter but had his charges upped to second-degree murder and manslaughter. The other three now-former officers - Thao, Lane and Kueng - involved in the killing of Floyd were charged with aiding and abetting murder.