George Floyd: Leaked police bodycam footage shows how fatal arrest began
Footage shows George Floyd pleading for his life
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Your support makes all the difference.Leaked body camera footage shows George Floyd begging for his life in the moments leading up to his arrest and subsequent death at the knee of former Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin.
Video recorded on the body cameras of two other former officers, Thomas Lane, 37, and J. Kueng, 26, shows the initial moments of the confrontation between Mr Floyd and officers outside a Minneapolis shop on 25 May.
A clip from the body camera of Mr Lane shows the fired officer approaching Mr Floyd as he sits in his car waiting for the police to arrive, having been accused of using a counterfeit $20 (£15) bill.
Mr Lane uses his torch to tap on the driver’s side window, where Mr Floyd is sat, before pulling out his gun and pointing it at the accused.
Mr Floyd, who becomes visibly distressed, begins begging for his life. “Mr. Officer, please don’t shoot me. Please man,” he can be heard saying in the footage, obtained by DailyMail.com.
Mr Floyd later died in police custody and the incident has proved to be a tinderbox moment for race relations in the US and around the world.
Demonstrators have taken to the streets – on a daily basis in some US cities – demanding greater race equality and an end to police brutality.
The protests have also reignited debates across the globe about the legacy of colonialism and the transatlantic slave trade.
Earlier this month, lawyers for Mr Lane submitted to the court body camera footage from their client and Mr J. Kueng. Mr Lane and Mr Thao have both applied to have their charges dropped.
Mr Lane, Mr J. Kueng and a third officer, Tou Thao, 34 all face charges of aiding and abetting both second degree murder and manslaughter.
Mr Chauvin, who knelt on My Floyd’s neck for almost nine minutes before he died, has been charged with second degree murder.
Demonstrations continue to sweep major cities across the US – more than three months after Floyd was killed.
Tensions boiled over on a number of occasions in Oregon after the Trump administration sent militarised federal agents to the city in an attempt to quell unrest.
On Sunday, hundreds of protesters took to the streets of Portland for the 66th night in a row.
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