The footage from the bodycams of two of the police officers involved in George Floyd's death has now been released. The shocking recordings allow new insights.
- The violent death of George Floyd sparked mass protests in the United States.
- Eleven weeks after his death, new video material has now been released.
- The shocking recordings bring new insights into his case.
Minneapolis - About eleven weeks after the violent death of George Floyd , a court in Hennepin County, Minneapolis, ordered the release of previously unseen footage showing the last minutes of his life. The African American was killed in a violent arrest by police in late May . The recordings were made by the bodycams of two of the police officers who were directly involved in the incident.
The harrowing video material closes some gaps in the public presentation of the case, but at the same time also raises new questions. Thanks to the videos, it is now even easier to understand how George Floyd's * encounter with the police ended in death .
George Floyd: The cop knelt on his neck longer than expected
When analyzing the videos published by the New York Times , it quickly becomes clear that the police officers did not show any de-escalating behavior from the start. One of the officers yelled at Floyd, who was still in the car at the time, that he had to show his hands. His tone was aggressive , he repeatedly hit the car window with a flashlight. Just six seconds after the car door opened, the cop drew his gun and pointed it at Floyd. Without explaining why he was stopped, he pulled George out of the car. Previously, video recordings showed other moments of this incident.
The footage may also explain why Floyd was so afraid of the officers. Both he and his passenger stated several times that he had been shot by the police in a similar situation in the past . The New York Times could not find any evidence for this either.
Nine minutes, thirty seconds: that's how long the policeman knelt on George Floyd's neck
The police brutally held George Floyd down in the street. A white officer named Derek Chauvin put his knee in his neck until Floyd could not breathe. On this point too, however, the recordings reveal new facts . Because they clearly prove that Derek Chauvin * was kneeling on the African American's neck for a full nine minutes and 30 seconds . So far, the public had assumed eight minutes and 46 seconds , the public prosecutor's office even deducted one minute from this time.
Floyd's agonizing Tofd also saddened ex-President Barack Obama .
My statement on the death of George Floyd: pic.twitter.com/Hg1k9JHT6R
- Barack Obama (@BarackObama) May 29, 2020George Floyd: Medical help came too late for him
What can also be seen on the videos of the bodycams is that there were delays in the medical care of George Floyd . "This is a chain that goes wrong," Rohini J. Haar, a medical expert with Physicians for Human Rights, told the New York Times . It was not until six minutes after the four officers pressed Floyd's face down to the ground, and only after massive calls from bystanders, that they checked his pulse - and didn't feel it. Yet they continued to hold him in a position where he could hardly breathe .
A few minutes later, the paramedics arrived and checked their pulse, but not their breathing . Instead of laying Floyd down to tend to him on the spot, they first loaded him into the ambulance . It was three minutes after the paramedics arrived that George Floyd was given chest compressions . Ten minutes after losing his pulse, he was first ventilated by a doctor . "They spent an incredible number of minutes taking his shirt off before they even checked his breathing," concludes Dr. Hair.
George Floyd's death led to mass protests against police violence and racism , * which, after initial riots, were largely peaceful. The new recordings are likely to cause another wave of indignation .
In the video: Amnesty International is concerned about the police reaction to the protests after Floyd's death
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List of rubric lists: © picture alliance / Miguel Juarez Lugo / ZUMA Wire / dpa