For the first time, two leaked body camera videos show the deadly encounter with George Floyd from the officers’ perspective. Floyd is heard begging for help and calling for his mother for several minutes.
In one video, former officer Thomas Lane confronts Floyd and tries to get him out of an SUV, with a gun aimed in his direction. Later in the footage, Floyd drops to the ground as officers lead him toward a squad car.
“Stop falling down,” one officer can be heard saying.
“I’m claustrophobic man, I’m claustrophobic, please man,” Floyd responds.
The other video, also published by The Daily Mail, appears to come from the body camera worn by former rookie officer Alexander Kueng. It shows Floyd resisting the officers’ attempts to put him in the squad car, and asking if he could be put in the front of the car instead.
As soon as Floyd hits the pavement, the video shows former officer Derek Chauvin’s gloved hands on him, with a knee on Floyd’s neck.
“Please I can’t breathe,” Floyd says in the video. “Please, man.”
“Relax. You can breathe fine, you’re talking fine,” one of the officers responds.
“I can’t breathe,” Floyd insists.
With a crowd gathering, the bodycam video shows Kueng take Floyd’s pulse. He wasn’t able to find one, prosecutors said.
There’s now an investigation into the leak of the bodycam video. Until now, the court had only allowed the videos to be viewed in person, although transcripts from some of the body cameras had been released.
Video from Derek Chauvin’s body camera has not yet been released.