Mayor calls for white Minneapolis cop who knelt on George Floyd's neck to be charged after new video shows him being dragged from his car NOT resisting arrest before being 'murdered' in cuffs on the street
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey has called on prosecutors to arrest and charge the white police officer who was filmed kneeling on the neck of black man George Floyd moments before he died in custody.
City officials on Wednesday formally identified the four fired police officers involved in Monday's incident as Derek Chauvin, Thomas Lane, Tou Thao, and J Alexander Kueng.
The cops, who were initially placed on paid administrative leave, were terminated from the Minneapolis Police Department on Tuesday after footage of Floyd's arrest and subsequent death was widely shared on social media.
Mayor Frey, who said firing the cops was the 'right call', did not identify the cop by name but called for the 'arresting officer' to be charged over his role in the incident that has sparked national calls for justice.
'If most people, particularly people of color, had done what a police officer did late Monday, they'd already be behind bars,' Frey said in a tweet on Wednesday.
'That's why today I'm calling on Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman to charge the arresting officer in this case.'
Chauvin had been earlier identified by Floyd family attorney Ben Crump as the officer who pinned Floyd to the ground in a video of his arrest. Footage showed him digging his knee into Floyd's neck as he repeatedly pleaded that he could not breathe.
CCTV footage from a nearby restaurant shows part of the altercation between Floyd and the officers on the scene. A handcuffed Floyd sits on the ground as a police officer, who was not seen in the original viral video, speaks to him before picking him up and holding him against the wall
Video footage shows the moment George Floyd was pulled from his car by officers during his arrest, moments before he lost consciousness after a white officer knelt on his neck for several minutes
Frey pointed out that most civilians would already be in jail if they had done with police officer was seen doing in the video
The four fired police officers involved in Monday's incident have been identified as Derek Chauvin, Thomas Lane, Tou Thao, and J Alexander Kueng
Speaking at a press conference in Minneapolis, Mayor Frey said he had spent the last 36 hours wrestling with one 'fundamental' question asking: 'Why is the man who killed George Floyd not in jail?'
'If you had done it or I had done it we would be behind bars right now and I cannot come up with an answer to that question,' he added.
In media briefing with state authorities on Wednesday, officials refused to confirm if Chauvin was the officer seen kneeling on Floyd due to the ongoing investigation, but reassured the public that they are acting swiftly in the matter.
'I can promise you unlike [Eric] Garner, you will not have to wait. There will not be a lag in time by the BCA [Bureau of Criminal Apprehension],' Minnesota director of public safety John Harrington said.
Authorities also revealed an autopsy is yet to be performed on Floyd as of Wednesday and they did not confirm whether police bodycam footage will be made public.
Floyd, 46, died in hospital shortly after his confrontation with police, which is now under investigation by the FBI and has prompted thousands of protesters to take to the streets to demand justice.
Cops were reported to have located Floyd, who was suspected of forgery, in his car around 8pm before ordering him to exit the vehicle, according to a police statement. A police spokesman alleged Floyd got out of the car before 'physically resisting officers'.
However, new video footage, obtained by FOX 9 on Wednesday, shed light on the moments leading up to Floyd's arrest, showing two officers manhandling and forcibly removing him from his car as he is placed in handcuffs outside the Cup Foods grocery store on 38th and Chicago Ave in south Minneapolis.
Floyd appears to be complying with officers and not resisting arrest before an altercation ensues.
Additional CCTV footage obtained by CBS News from a nearby restaurant also showed parts of the altercation between Floyd and officers on the sidewalk.
The new videos offer further insight into Floyd's death, which has sparked outrage and questions overs officers' alleged use of force on a suspect accused of a non-violent offense.
In the CCTV footage from a restaurant, a handcuffed Floyd is seen sitting on the ground as a police officer, who was not seen in the original viral video, speaks to him before picking him up and holding him against the wall.
Another police officer then comes over and helps escort Floyd to a nearby squad car before the clip ends.
The events to follow were then captured in a separate video widely shared on Tuesday, which showed Floyd pleading with Chauvin to stop, saying 'please, please, I can't breathe' and 'My stomach hurts. My neck hurts. Everything hurts', as he is pinned to the ground.
Witnesses at the scene were heard urging the arresting officers to stop, with one pointing out that Floyd was not resisting arrest.
Mayor Jacob Frey has called for the white officer who knelt on Floyd's neck to be criminally charged on Wednesday. Derek Chauvin (pictured) was identified by Floyd family's attorney or other sources as the officer pinning him down in video footage that was widely shared on Tuesday
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, who said firing the police officers was the 'right call,' is now asking for the white cop who knelt on George Floyd's neck to be arrested and charged
George Floyd's (pictured) heartbroken family have called for the cops to be charged with murder and their lawyer revealed white cop Derek Chauvin knelt on Floyd's neck for a staggering eight minutes during the arrest for forgery
A photo taken across the street from the scene show three officers arresting Floyd as he lay on the ground. The FBI and state law enforcement authorities have launched an investigation into the man's death
An incident report released by the Minneapolis Fire Department on Wednesday detailed how paramedics worked on a 'unresponsive, pulseless' Floyd, who was pronounced dead at hospital.
'Medics performed pulse checks several times, finding none, and delivered one shock by their monitor. [Floyd's] condition did not change,' it states.
It also reveals fire crew members arrived at the scene in search of Floyd and were told by several bystanders that the police 'had killed the man.'
Protesters raised their fists and sported face masks to protect them from the spread of COVID-19 as they gathered for the rally near the spot where Floyd died
Shawanda Hill (right), the girlfriend of George Floyd, is comforted near the spot where he died while in custody of the Minneapolis Police
Shawanda Hill, the girlfriend of George Floyd, was pictured at the rally near the spot where he died
Protesters gather under the rain to protest on Tuesday evening, near the spot where George Floyd died
'Bystanders were upset but not unruly. No clear info on pt [patient] or location was given by either initial pd officers or bystanders.'
On Wednesday, Ben Crump, the attorney representing Floyd's family, said without video footage of the incident, he believes police 'would have given a false narrative and they would've swept it under the rug,' he told Today.
An initial statement released by the Minneapolis Police Department on Tuesday did not include details of officers' altercation with Floyd and only mentioned he had suffered 'medical distress' following the arrest.
'Officers were advised that the suspect was sitting on top of a blue car and appeared to be under the influence,' Police spokesman John Elder said in a statement.
'Two officers arrived and located the suspect, a male believed to be in his 40s, in his car. He was ordered to step from his car. After he got out, he physically resisted officers. Officers were able to get the suspect into handcuffs and noted he appeared to be suffering medical distress. Officers called for an ambulance. He was transported to Hennepin County Medical Center by ambulance where he died a short time later.'
Crump pointed to the similarities in the case with the death of unarmed black man Garner who died in 2014 after he was placed in a chokehold by New York City police and pleaded for his life, saying he could not breathe.
Parallels have already been drawn between the two cases, both of which were captured on video, but Crump described Floyd's death as even 'worse'.
'I mean it was 8 minutes. It is in many ways worse than Eric Garner as they have his knees on his neck and he is begging, pleading for not one minute, not two minutes, not three minutes but eight minutes – begging them to let him breathe so we have "we can't breathe" again in 2020,' he said.
Crump said news that the officers had been fired was a 'good first step' but said it does not go far enough to getting justice for the dead man.
Before his death on Monday, Floyd had worked as a security guard at Conga Latin Bistro on East Hennepin Ave, owner Jovanni Thunstrom revealed.
Floyd worked as a bouncer for Conga Latin Bistro on E Hennepin Ave and previously had a job as a truck driver in Minneapolis, friends said
Chaos has erupted at a Minneapolis protest over George Floyd's death as police in riot gear threw tear gas and rubber bullets at demonstrators demanding the white cops are charged over the black man's killing
He described him as a 'good friend, person, and a good tenant', saying Floyd rented property from him in St. Louis Park.
'He was family. His co-workers and friends loved him,' Thunstrom told the Star Tribune.
Floyd was also father to two children, including six-year-old daughter Gianna Floyd, whom he shared with former partner Roxie Washington, from Houston.
Washington told the Houston Chronicle Floyd, who was born in North Carolina, grew up in Houston's Third Ward after moving there as a baby.
She remembered him as a star athlete who ended up receiving a basketball scholarship to Florida State University in Washington, but said he did not finish his studies.
After moving back to Texas to focus on making hip hop music, Floyd eventually moved to Minneapolis in 2018.
There he had worked a truck driver and a bouncer at Thunstrom's restaurant.
'It's cruel. They took him away from my daughter. She'll never see her father again,' Washington said.
Demonstrators carrying placards reading 'I can't breathe' and 'Justice 4 Floyd' surrounded a police precinct Tuesday night. Milk drains from the face of a protester who had been exposed to percussion grenades and tear gas outside the Minneapolis Police 3rd Precinct on Tuesday
The demonstators demanded the arrest of the four officers but were met with rubber bullets and tear gas fired by masked cops as the city's streets descended into chaos.
Floyd was filmed Monday begging the Minneapolis cop to stop and telling him he could not breathe before he lost consciousness and later died
'He was a gentle giant. People mistake him because he was so big that they thought he was always a fighting person but he was a loving person…. and he loved his daughter.'
Floyd's family have since demanded police officer Chauvin be charged with murder, and the other three officers involved charged as murder accomplices, in addition to losing their jobs.
Thousands of defiant protesters took to the streets to demand justice for Floyd on Tuesday, and were met with Minneapolis cops in riot gear firing rubber bullets.
Demonstrators carrying placards reading 'I can't breathe' and 'Justice 4 Floyd' surrounded a police precinct Tuesday night after the disturbing video of 46-year-old Floyd begging the cop to stop before falling unconscious was shared online.
The victim's heartbroken family have called for the cops to be charged with murder and their lawyer revealed white cop Derek Chauvin knelt on Floyd's neck for a staggering eight minutes during the arrest for forgery.
Floyd worked as a security guard at Conga Latin Bistro, a local bistro in Minneapolis. The bar's owners have described him as a 'very calm, nice guy' who was not the type to be 'aggressive' or 'disrespectful'.
The demonstrators demanded the arrest of the four officers but were met with rubber bullets and tear gas fired by masked cops as the city's streets descended into chaos.
Some had their faces doused in milk to limit the effects of the gas while others ran for cover.
A man holds his hands up in a gesture seen in the 'Hands up, don't shoot' movement in Ferguson in 2014, following the fatal shooting of black 18-year-old Michael Brown by a white police officer
Shocking images emerged of people dousing their faces in milk in desperate efforts to limit the effects of the tear gas hurled at them by police
People gathered for the rally were seen running desperately from the scene away from the rain of rubber bullets and tear gas from police
Police and protesters clash as night falls on Minneapolis Tuesday - one day after black man George Floyd died
Hill was being comforted by other protesters at the rally which descended into chaos when demonstrators and police clash
People were packed in for the rally Tuesday which began peacefully but descended into carnage later in the day
The peaceful event turned ugly as it continued into the night, with footage showing both police and protesters hurling things at each other.
Police in riot gear were pictured forming a barrier around the precinct from around 7.30pm as swarms of people marched on the building, reported CBS Local.
Footage then revealed some protesters sitting on the ground, while officers threw smoke bombs, tear gas and flash grenades into the crowds.
At one point, a car was seen being struck by a tear gas canister as people ran away.
Images showed people who had gathered for the rally desperately fleeing as rubber bullets and tear gas rained down on them.
In one picture, a man was seen holding his hands up in a gesture that started in the 'Hands up, don't shoot' movement in Ferguson in 2014, following the fatal shooting of black 18-year-old Michael Brown by a white police officer.
Others hid behind shopping carts from the Target store nearby.
Shawanda Hill, the girlfriend of George Floyd, was pictured at the rally near the spot where her boyfriend died being comforted by other protesters as she choked back tears of grief.
A reporter for Star Tribune, Andy Mannix, said in a Twitter post that he was shot in the thigh with a rubber bullet while covering the protests, as tensions mounted between law enforcement and the protesters.
The demonstrators hit back at the police too, with some seen throwing bricks and rocks at police vehicles and smashing up the car windows.
One man was seen launching a large brick onto an empty squad car. There were reports of at least one officer injured in the chaos.
Hundreds of people began gathering at the intersection of E 38th St and Chicago Avenue in the city during the afternoon, ahead of a planned march of around two miles from the site of Floyd's arrest to the police precinct.
One woman was seen wearing a face mask with the phrase 'I can't breathe' written across her mouth.
Protesters raised their fists and sported face masks to protect them from the spread of COVID-19 as they gathered for the rally near the spot where Floyd died.
Mayor calls for white Minneapolis cop who knelt on George Floyd's neck to be charged after new video shows him being dragged from his car NOT resisting arrest before being 'murdered' in cuffs on the street
![Mayor calls for white Minneapolis cop who knelt on George Floyd's neck to be charged after new video shows him being dragged from his car NOT resisting arrest before being 'murdered' in cuffs on the street]()
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