Police release heavily-censored bodycam footage of George Floyd's arrest which they claim exonerates one officer and shows two of the victim's 'buddies' being arrested as he lay dying on the street

Bodycam footage from an officer who was at the scene of the arrest of George Floyd appears to show the cop speaking to two of the man's friends and then trying to reassure them an ambulance is on it's way to help him.

Minneapolis Park Police say the video, released on Wednesday night, shows that although one of its patrol cars was at the scene, the officer had little interaction with Floyd while he was being detained by four cops from the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD). 

Minneapolis Park Police Department is a separate police force to the MPD. The Park Police are responsible for law enforcement in city parks. The four MPD cops have since been fired.

The nearly 20-minute-long video was shared as violent protests broke out in both Minneapolis and downtown Los Angeles, as outraged demonstrators called for an end to police brutality and justice for Floyd.

Due to the bodycam footage being heavily censored with black boxes and muted to conceal the identities of citizens, it is unclear from the video how aware the Park Police officer was of the events unfolding across the street. 

The Park Police footage first shows the MPD officers questioning Floyd as he sits on the ground. 

The bodycam-wearing cop later watches over two passengers from the victim's car.

The video captured by the Minneapolis Park Police officer doesn't shed much more light on the incident.

According to Park Police Chief Jason Ohotto, his officer was 118 feet away from Floyd.

'Based on a review of the body worn camera footage, which is being released to demonstrate the vantage point of the Park Police officer, the Park Police officer was not in a location to witness or intervene in the MPD incident,' Chief Ohotto said Wednesday. 

The bodycam footage opens with the Park Police officer arriving on the scene in his car. There, he finds two MPD officers who have detained a group of people, hidden in the video behind black boxes to conceal their identities. 

One of the MPD cops involved in Floyd's death points the responding Park Police officer away from the immediate scene, asking him to supervise two other people. 

The Park Police officer then tells two passengers from Floyd's vehicle not to interfere until the cops have completed their arrest. 

'I don't want you touching anything from the car,' he states.

Around two minutes into the footage, the Park Police officer with the bodycam can be seen in his car operating electronic devices. 

Through the window, the two MPD officers walk a man hidden behind a black box - presumable Floyd - across the street to be arrested next to a Cup Foods deli where E 38th street intersects with Chicago Avenue, shown in the bodycam footage.

The Park Police officer remains on the side of the street Floyd was initially arrested on to monitor his two friends. For the majority of the footage, the Park Police officer is facing in the opposite direction to where Floyd has been detained.

While the officer does occasionally turn back to look across the street, the events that led up to Floyd's death are obscured by an MPD police car.

Speaking to the men who have been detained, the Park Police officer asks: 'What are you guys taking out the car? Cigarettes? Personal items? Whose car is this?' 

Much of the audio is silenced and identities of those involved and passerby are concealed. 

The cop continues to tell them to 'stay put'. 'I don't want anyone near this car,' he adds. 

'Just stay put, alright, until my partners and them are done over there and they can figure things out,' the responding officer reassures them. 

'We'll figure things out alright. Right now, we're grabbing an ambulance for your buddy.' 

Around 15 minutes into the video, the ambulance is shown arriving at the scene, while the Park Police officer continues to stay on the side of the road where Floyd was first arrested.

On the opposite side of the road to where the Park Police officer was stationed, Floyd died after white MPD officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for a staggering eight minutes. 

In footage initially released from a witness, Floyd is seen begging Chauvin to stop and telling him he could not breathe before he lost consciousness and later died. 

Four Minneapolis Police Department who were involved in Monday's incident have now been fired. 

The cop wearing the bodycam is from Minneapolis Park Police. The department's role in the incident was brought into question because bystander footage showed one of their patrol cars.

Officers arrested him for allegedly trying to use forged documents at a local deli. 

The FBI and state law enforcement authorities have launched an investigation into the man's death. 

Authorities claimed Tuesday that Floyd had resisted arrest by cops, however footage from the scene has cast doubt on the version of events as it appears to show the 46-year-old father-of-two cooperating with officers as he is manhandled out of his vehicle.

A release from the MFD report sheds more light on Monday's shocking events, detailing that fire crew were called to assist medics with a man - called 'pt' in the report - who had trauma to his mouth.

It states that Fire Station 17 of Minneapolis arrived at the scene outside the Cup Foods store to find 'multiple squads on scene and small crowd of citizens'.

The report points to confusion at the scene as neither the cops nor bystanders gave information to medics on Floyd or his location.

It says that while the crew tried to find Floyd to give medical support, they overheard and were told by 'several people that the police 'had killed the man''.

The report adds that the bystanders were 'upset but not unruly'.

Crew members were finally able to find a cop inside the store who told them medics had put Floyd in an ambulance and left the scene.

Crew members were also told by an off-duty firefighter who witnessed the end of the struggle that they had seen Floyd become unresponsive on the ground while handcuffed and subdued by cops.

Medics then called for assistance and the crew responded to the ambulance which had moved to 36th and Park Avenue.

Two crew members got into the ambulance where they found 'an unresponsive, pulseless male', the report states.

According to the report, medics never managed to recover a pulse on route to the hospital and Floyd's 'condition did not change'.  

Thousands of defiant protesters took to the streets to demand justice for Floyd.

The victim's family's lawyer Ben Crump issued a statement urging protesters to act peacefully on Wednesday night and to not 'sink to the level of our oppressors'.

'The community is understandably and rightfully upset by the wrongful death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers, and their grief and outrage are pouring out onto the streets of Minneapolis. We share these painful emotions and demand justice, but we also urge everyone who wishes to raise their voice to engage in peaceful protests and observe social distancing,'

'We cannot sink to the level of our oppressors, and we must not endanger others during this pandemic. We will demand and ultimately force lasting change by shining a light on treatment that is horrific and unacceptable and by winning justice.'