On August 3, a British newspaper’s website, Daily Mail.com, released about 10 minutes of the bodycam footage of former Minneapolis police officer Thomas Lane and about 18 minutes of ex-officer J. Alexander Kueng’s showing the May 25th encounter and killing of George Floyd.[1]
The Daily Mail’s online article says the footage “was leaked to DailyMail.com” and “is revealed exclusively by” that site. The article includes photos of some segments of the video as well as a button to push “Watch the full video.” The article also includes the newspaper’s textual descriptions of what is seen on the videos and, in some instances, the newspaper’s interpretations of the encounter:
- “It is clear from the video that Floyd was not trying to run away. He had plenty of time to leave the scene before police arrived. But instead he decided to sit in his car with two friends, giving the cops the opportunity to approach.”
- “It shows a rookie officer terrifying Floyd by pointing a handgun at his head.”
- “’Hey man, I’m sorry,’ Floyd says and apologizes again before Lane gets belligerent. ‘Put your f***ing hands up right now! Let me see your other hand,’ the cop is heard saying.”
- “Floyd resisted as the cops tried to force him into the back of the car, telling them he suffers from claustrophobia and anxiety.”
- “The tapes show in minute detail how a very distressed Floyd begs ‘Mr. Officer, please don’t shoot me. Please man,’ before the struggle that ended with his death.”
- “It also shows how belligerent cops cursed at and manhandled the sobbing suspect, ignoring his pleas for compassion.”
- “Floyd is even heard predicting his own death. ‘I’ll probably just die this way,’ he says.”
- It shows an officer “callously picking a pebble from the squad car tire just inches from the dying man and seconds before he draws his last breath.”
The release of the videos was in violation of an order by Hennepin County District Judge Peter Cahill, who had made the videos available by appointment for public viewing at the courthouse on condition they not be recorded or publicly distributed. The court provided laptop computers for watching the videos to the scheduled viewers, who were required to not have their own computers and phones with them.[2]
The Daily Mail’s videos appear to have been recorded by an electronic device when they were shown on one of the court’s computers. The Daily Mail did not say how it had obtained the footages other than they had been “leaked.”
A court spokesman, Spencer Bickett, said the Court was aware of the leak, that an investigation was underway and that “The court will provide no further comment on this matter at this time.”
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison stated that he was not the source of the leak and that his office “will continue to take the strictest precautions to ensure a fair trial.”
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[1] Gould, EXCLUSIVE: Police bodycam footage shows moment-by-moment arrest of George Floyd for the first time-from terror on his face when officer points gun at his head, sobbing before he’s shoved into a squad car and begging to breathe as his life drains away. DailyMaiol.com (Aug. 3, 2020); Wax-Thibodeaux, Bailey & Berman, Protests live updates: Daily Mail publishes ‘leaked’ police body-cam footage of George Floyd arrest, Wash. Post (Aug. 3, 2020); George Floyd Case: Daily Mail Obtains Body Cam Video from 2 Officers in Floyd’s Arrest Death, CBS Minnesota (Aug. 3, 2020); Assoc. Press, British Paper Publishes Police Bodycam Video of Floyd Arrest, N.Y. Times (Aug. 3, 2020); Xiong, Daily Mail publishes leaked bodycam footage of George Floyd arrest, killing, StarTribune (Aug. 3, 2020).
[2] See Gag Order in George Floyd Murder Cases, dwkcommentaries.com (July 9, 2020); Media Coalition Asks Court To Release BodyCam Footage of George Floyd Killing, dwkcommentaries.com (July 14, 2020); Journalist’s Report on viewing Two Bodycam Footages of George Floyd Killing, dwkcommentaries.com: (July 15, 2020); Bodycam video shows officer pulled gun on George Floyd early on, StarTribune (July 16, 2020). See also List of Posts to dwkcommentaries—Topical: George Floyd Killing.