Police camera footage showing George Floyd pleading with the officers who were arresting him moments before he died has been released.
The video, which was previously only available to journalists and members of the public to view by appointment, can now be published following a ruling by a Hennepin County judge.
In the recordings from Minneapolis officers Thomas Lane and J Kueng, Mr Floyd can be heard telling them “I’m not a bad guy” as they try to wrestle him into a police car.
One officer checks for a pulse but cannot find one Pic: Minneapolis Police Department
“I’m not that kind of guy,” Mr Floyd says as he struggles against the officers. “I just had COVID, man, I don’t want to go back to that.”
An onlooker can be heard pleading with Mr Floyd to stop struggling, saying: “You can’t win.” Mr Floyd replies, “I don’t want to win.”
A few minutes later, with Mr Floyd now face-down on the street, the cameras record his fading voice, still occasionally saying, “I can’t breathe” before he goes still.
The recordings are part of the criminal case against them and two other officers over Mr Floyd’s death on 25 May.
Derek Chauvin, who held his knee against Mr Floyd’s neck for nearly eight minutes, is charged with second-degree murder.
Lane, Kueng and another officer, Tou Thao, are charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and manslaughter.
All four officers were fired the day after Mr Floyd died.
The video is the fullest public view yet of Mr Floyd’s interaction with the officers.
During the arrest, one officer can be heard saying: “I think he’s passing out.”
“You guys all right, though?” someone asks. “Yeah – good so far,” said one.
All four arresting officers were fired the day after Mr Floyd died Pic: Minneapolis Police Department
Another – apparently Lane – said: “My knee might be a little scratched, but I’ll survive.”
Lane asks Chauvin whether they should roll Mr Floyd on his side and suggests that he might be in delirium.
People in the crowd can be heard expressing fear for Mr Floyd’s condition, asking whether he had a pulse and was breathing.
A couple of minutes later, Lane asks again about rolling Mr Floyd onto his side.
The officers go quiet as Kueng checks for a pulse and says he cannot find one.
Lane’s camera shows him following an unresponsive Mr Floyd on a stretcher into an ambulance, where paramedics instructed him to perform CPR.