Published 11:53 IST, July 9th 2020
George Floyd's death: 'Tell my kids, I love them,' transcript reveals his last moments
A newly released transcript shows that George Floyd told police officers that he would die and begged them to not shoot him during the May 25 incident.
A newly released transcript shows that George Floyd told police officers that he would die and begged them to not shoot him during the May 25 incident. According to the transcript obtained from the body camera of one of the officers charged with the murder of George Floyd, Derek Chauvin, who knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes told him to speak less as it takes a 'heck of a lot of oxygen'. The transcript reportedly reveals that George Floyd was very afraid when officer J. Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane approached his car to arrest him as he repeatedly kept saying, "please don't shoot me, I'm sorry, please don't shoot me, Mr. Officer." As per the transcript, Floyd asked officers multiple times that what did he do, what was his offence.
Floyd was detained after police responded to reports of fake $20 currency being used in the area. Kueng and Lane reached there and spotted Floyd in his car following which they asked him to step out of his car, which made him nervous and afraid. Keung and Lane then asked Floyd to sit down as he kept saying, 'please don't shoot me'. Lane reportedly asked Shawanda Renee Hill, a witness inside the car, who was with Floyd that why was he acting strangely. Hill replied that he has been shot before and that is why he is scared. Floyd was then taken to the squad car where officers asked him to get inside, which he resisted saying that he is 'claustrophobic' and recently had 'COVID-19'.
Floyd was then placed on the ground when senior officer Derek Chauvin came and knelt on his neck. According to the transcript, Floyd reportedly said, 'Oh my god. I can’t believe this. I can’t believe this. Mama, I love you. ... Tell my kids I love them. I’m dead.' Floyd then complains about not being able to breathe, but the officer stayed in the position for over eight minutes. According to the video that went viral following Floyd's death, Chauvin only moved when an ambulance arrived and the paramedic asked him to do so. As per the transcript, Lane had asked Chauvin if they should move Floyd from the position that he is in, to which the senior officer replied, 'no leave him.'
Protests erupt in the US
George Floyd's death sparked a series of protests across the United States and in some parts of the world. Demonstrators in the United States were demanding reforms in policing and an end in systematic racism, that people of colour have been facing for centuries in the land of free. In some parts of the country, the protests grew violent and protesters started vandalising properties, police building, statues of confederate leaders. The slogan of the peaceful protests that were taking place in most places was 'I can't breathe', the last words of George Floyd, who was murdered brutally in Minneapolis on May 25. In the wake of nationwide protests, House Democrats recently passed Justice in Policing Act of 2020 as part of bringing reforms in policing.
Updated 11:52 IST, July 9th 2020