A new body camera transcript shows George Floyd told police during his arrest that he had just recovered from COVID-19 and pleaded with officers more than 20 times that he couldn't breathe and was going to die. Minneapolis Officer Derek Chauvin — who was kneeling on Floyd's neck — dismissed those pleas.
The transcript shows Chauvin suggested that if Floyd really couldn't breathe, he wouldn't be speaking, telling Floyd: "It takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk." Chauvin faces second- and third-degree murder charges as well as a second-degree manslaughter charge.
Officers said Floyd resisted arrest. The transcript shows he was hesitant to get out of his car, saying he'd been shot by police before. Floyd also struggled with an order to get into the police car while explaining that he was claustrophobic.
Lawyers for the other officers involved in the arrest have both blamed Floyd's death on Chauvin, saying the rookie officers were just following his lead. The new transcript was filed by the lawyers of one of the other officers involved, Thomas Lane. It shows Lane asked twice if they should reposition Floyd.
The death of Floyd, a Black man, at the hands of the White officer Chauvin, sparked protests over police brutality around the world.
