News

Judge in George Floyd case allows video of prior arrest

by Cameron Jenkins 10/16/20 10:12 AM ET

A judge presiding over the criminal prosecution of police officers charged in the killing of George Floyd ruled on Thursday that he will allow a video of an encounter that Floyd had with Minneapolis police in May 2019 to be presented as evidence by defense attorneys, according to The Washington Post.

Hennepin County District Judge Peter A. Cahill allowed the footage of the prior arrest saying on Thursday that it is “one small piece of evidence which shows what basically everybody already knows: George Floyd was arrested on another occasion,” according to the Post.

The evidence includes the body-camera footage of three police officers, as well as transcripts from a traffic stop that occurred on May 6, 2019, the Post reported.

In the video, the paper reported Floyd failed to comply immediately when an officer asked him to place his hands on his head or on the dashboard of his vehicle. However, Floyd complied after he appeared to swallow pills and the situation was quickly de-escalated. He was handcuffed and placed in a police car peacefully, according to the Post.

The evidence also showed that Floyd was fearful of being shot that day, according to the Post.

“Don’t shoot me, man, please. I don’t want to get shot,” Floyd said in the video, according to the news source. An officer responded, “I don’t plan on shooting you.”

During the hearing on Thursday, Earl Gray, a defense attorney representing one of the former Minneapolis police officers charged in Floyd’s death, reportedly made it known that he would be pushing for the footage to be used as evidence.

“The state is portraying Mr. Floyd as somebody he isn’t,” Gray said, explaining that the prosecution has painted Floyd as a law-abiding citizen, not someone who wouldn’t comply immediately with police.

While the prosecution started a motion that would have kept the transcripts and footage of the 2019 incident from the public, on Thursday Cahill denied it, making the evidence available for public view, according to the Post.

Four officers are being charged in Floyd’s death, which occurred on May 25 of this year.

Derek Chauvin, the officer filmed placing his knee to Floyd’s neck, is facing second-degree murder and manslaughter charges. J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas K. Lane and Tou Thao, the three other officers that were present during the incident, are being charged with aiding and abetting, the Post reported.