New Footage Shows Cop Ignoring Bystanders' Plea To Intervene In George Floyd Incident

New footage of the fatal encounter George Floyd had with some Minneapolis policemen shows an officer ignoring the pleas of bystanders to intervene as former cop Derek Chauvin placed his knee on the black man’s neck.

Bystanders have been pleading with Chauvin’s fellow police officers to intervene as the former cop kept his knee on the motionless Floyd, a new video clip shows. An unidentified onlooker can be heard asking one of the police officers, Tou Thao, to check on Floyd as the black American, who has been telling policemen he cannot breathe, now lay on the ground silent, NYPost reports.

What Transpired?

Reports say that it all began when a Cup Foods grocery store employee reported to the police about having received what appeared to be a fake $20 that Floyd gave for a pack of cigarettes on May 25. While the black American is a regular at the store, according to store owner Mike Abumayyaleh, the teenage employee may have been unfamiliar with him. In a 911 call transcript released by authorities, the store clerk demanded Floyd return the cigarettes but did not do as asked.

When the police arrived, one of the officers, later identified as Thomas Lane, drew his gun and ordered Floyd, who was sitting in his car near the store, to show his hands. They explained to the black American he is under arrest for “passing counterfeit money” and proceeded to put handcuffs on him and lead him to the squad car. It was during this time that Chauvin arrived and helped his fellow officers put Floyd inside the car, but the latter fell to the ground. The now-fired cop then placed his knee on the black American’s neck, saying he is just trying to restrain the man.

A Grim Footage

Witnesses captured the scene showing Floyd being pinned by Chauvin to the pavement with the latter’s knee pressing on the black American’s neck. Floyd was heard crying out in obvious difficulty and pain that he cannot breathe, but the police officers paid no attention. In the new video that surfaced recently, bystanders can be heard pleading with Officer Tou Thao to intervene, with one saying, “You’re going to let him kill that man in front of you?”

The pleas appeared to be ignored as Thao continued to watch the crowd gather around the scene. In the video, the officer moved only when the growing crowd appeared to be getting close to Officer Derek Chauvin. The cries of Floyd about being unable to breathe have since stopped, and the black American lay silent and unmoving.

Ben Crump, the lawyer for the family of Floyd, posted the video Sunday on Instagram, saying the new footage is harder to watch than the first one. “Tou Thao stood guard as Derek Chauvin MURDERED George Floyd … while witnesses of the execution tried to stand up for JUSTICE, tried to save George’s life,” Crump wrote on Instagram.