DISTURBING NEW footage of the moments leading up to George Floyd’s death has shown how police ignored bystanders pleading desperately for officer Derek Chauvin to stop kneeling on Floyd’s neck.
The 46-year-old African-American man died after Chauvin knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes.
In the video released by Ben Crump, an attorney for Floyd’s family, one of the other police officers at the scene, Tou Thao, can be seen ignoring pleas from bystanders as Chauvin kneels on Floyd.
Floyd appears to be completely unresponsive throughout the unsettling clip.
In the clip, a man and a woman can be heard demanding the officers check Floyd’s pulse.
A man can be heard yelling at Thao: “You think that’s okay? Check his pulse!”
“He ain’t moved yet bro. He has not moved not one time. You’re going to let him kill that man in front of you?”
The woman then says: “Tell me what his pulse is right now.”
Another woman can also be heard asking: “Did they just fucking kill him?”
Thao does not intervene at any point during the clip, instead confronting bystanders and telling them to stay back.
The video ends with Floyd being taken from the scene on a stretcher.
“This is beyond disturbing, even harder to watch than the first video,” Crump wrote alongside the video.
“Tou Thao stood guard as Derek Chauving MURDERED George Floyd…while witnesses of the execution tried to stand up for JUSTICE, tried to save George’s life!.”
“The protest of those bystanders, who refused to just stand by and let it happen, has reverberated around the world – fueling protests against injustice and police brutality!! 8 minutes 46 seconds,” Crump added.
NEW VIDEO OF #GEORGEFLOYD’S MURDER! Beyond disturbing, even harder to watch than the 1st video. “You’re going to let him kill that man in front of you?” Thao stood guard as Chauvin KILLED George ... while bystanders tried to save his life (Full video: https://t.co/bog11TZcDt) pic.twitter.com/coNI2oIb8l
— Ben Crump (@AttorneyCrump) June 14, 2020
Chauvin was fired from the Minneapolis police department and charged with second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter following Floyd’s death on Memorial Day.
Thao, 34, along with fellow officers Thomas Lane, 37, and J Alexander Kueng, 26, have, meanwhile, been charged with aiding and abetting Chauvin in the murder of Floyd.
The release of the video comes as protests against police brutality and racism extend into a third week in the US with protests held in solidarity held across Ireland.
Chauvin made his first court appearance last week, where his bail was set at $1.25 million.
Thao, Lane and Kueng also appeared in court, with each held on $1 million bail.
Lane, who was only four days into his job as a police officer, has since been freed after his bail was raised via crowdfunding.
