#WITNESS DEFINITION SERIES#

At 8:20 p.m., we hear Floyd’s voice for the first time. It’s the first moment when we can clearly see that Floyd is face down on the ground, with three officers applying pressure to his neck, torso and legs. The footage from the first witness shows us that all four officers are now gathered around Floyd. That’s when two witnesses begin filming, almost simultaneously. Floyd is now lying on the pavement, face down. Chauvin pulls him through the back seat and onto the street. Security camera footage from Cup Foods shows Kueng struggling with Floyd in the backseat while Thao watches. Chauvin becomes involved in the struggle to get Floyd into the car.

Chauvin has been involved in three police shootings, one of them fatal. Thao was once sued for throwing a man to the ground and hitting him. Both have previous records of complaints brought against them. It’s carrying officers Tou Thao and Derek Chauvin. Nine minutes into the arrest, the third and final police car arrives on the scene. According to the complaints, he tells them he can’t breathe.

During the struggle, Floyd appears to turn his head to address the officers multiple times. According to the criminal complaints filed against the officers, Floyd says he is claustrophobic and refuses to enter the police car. As the officers approach their car, we can see Floyd fall to the ground. Six minutes into the arrest, the two officers move Floyd back to their vehicle. And third, that he seems to already be in distress. But second, even though the police were expecting this situation, we can see that Floyd has not acted violently. “All right, what’s your name?” From the 911 transcript and the footage, we now know three important facts: First, that the police believed they were responding to a man who was drunk and out of control. And Kueng walks him to the restaurant wall. The officers cuff Floyd’s hands behind his back. A man is filming the confrontation from a car parked behind them. Lane reholsters the gun, and after about 90 seconds of back and forth, yanks Floyd out of the S.U.V. He orders Floyd to put his hands on the wheel. Alexander Kueng step out of the car and approach the blue S.U.V. According to the 911 transcript, an employee says that Floyd used fake bills to buy cigarettes, and that he is “awfully drunk” and “not in control of himself.” Soon, the first police vehicle arrives on the scene. Four minutes later, they call the police. They demand the cigarettes back but walk away empty-handed. At 7:57 p.m., two employees from Cup Foods confront Floyd and his companions about an alleged counterfeit bill he just used in their store to buy cigarettes. Note that the timestamp on the camera is 24 minutes fast. Footage from this restaurant security camera helps us understand what happens next. Across the street is a convenience store called Cup Foods. Floyd is sitting in the driver’s seat of this blue S.U.V. The Times analyzed bystander videos, security camera footage and police scanner audio, spoke to witnesses and experts, and reviewed documents released by the authorities to build as comprehensive a picture as possible and better understand how George Floyd died in police custody. The other three officers have been charged with aiding and abetting murder. One of the officers involved, Derek Chauvin, has been arrested and charged with second-degree murder. Crowd: “No justice, no peace.” Floyd’s death triggered major protests in Minneapolis, and sparked rage across the country. The man was 46-year-old George Floyd, a bouncer originally from Houston who had lost his job at a restaurant when the coronavirus pandemic hit. Seventeen minutes later, the man they are there to investigate lies motionless on the ground, and is pronounced dead shortly after. Police respond to a call about a man who allegedly used a counterfeit $20 bill to buy cigarettes. (This video contains scenes of graphic violence.)

#WITNESS DEFINITION SERIES#

Security footage, witness videos and official documents show how a series of actions by officers turned fatal. Transcript How George Floyd Was Killed in Police Custody The Times has reconstructed the death of George Floyd on May 25.

Witness definition