George Perry Floyd Was Slowly Tortured To Death

Body cams don’t lie.

Neither did George Floyd’s body the day he was murdered in cold blood on May 25, 2020, during which three police officers were captured on camera having slowly tortured Floyd to death, all because he attempted to pass a $20 counterfeit bill inside the Hennepin County Cup Foods store to pay for a lousy pack of cigarettes.

Was the crime proportional or reasonable in relationship to the excessive force the police officers used on Floyd that day? Absolutely not.

In fact, even before unarmed Floyd was forced to lie handcuffed on his stomach next to the squad car, he could be seen and heard as extremely compliant and not resisting or combative in any way.

Still, almost as though he had a premonition, Floyd sensed what was about to unfold and knew his life was in danger.

And his sixth sense was right.

That day, it didn’t seem to matter one iota to the police officers on the scene that Floyd cried out to his mother, that he said he loved his mother, that he said, “Mama, they’re going to kill me,” that he said, “My body’s shutting down,” that he begged the officers not to shoot him as they pointed their firearms at him, that he apologized profusely for what he had done.

From the time Floyd was forced to lie down in the prone position with his hands handcuffed behind his back, he cried out, pleading for his life. And yet all three officers, all of whom kept their body weight firmly on Floyd for 9 minutes and 29 seconds before the ambulance arrived, chose to blatantly ignore his desperate pleas, as Officer Derek Chauvin continued to press and dig his knee into Floyd’s neck, slowly but ultimately cutting off the blood supply and oxygen to his brain. Anyone who owns a television screen can remember the chilling video footage of Floyd screaming for help while Officer Chauvin looked straight ahead with an icy stare, his hands resting nonchalantly inside his trouser pockets; and of Officer Tao standing by like the fox guarding the chicken coop while also doing minimal crowd control to keep the handful of bystanders from stepping off the curb to prevent them from getting too close to the scene that was unfolding before their very eyes.

Before Floyd was forced to lie down next to the squad car, he had already been ruffed up by one or more officers, as they attempted to force him into the squad car, despite the fact that he kept crying out that he couldn’t breathe and was claustrophobic.

Did the police officers show even one ounce of care or mercy towards Floyd as he cried out? No. Not only were they devoid of any compassion, empathy and humanity, but they continued to bash him around inside the squad car.

As the video cam footage and audio recordings played out in the courtroom on March 31, 2021, Officer Chauvin was witnessed having wedged the victim’s neck so firmly in the crook of his right arm, Floyd had no choice but to cry out in utter desperation multiple times that he couldn’t breathe, but the officer continued to ignore his cries. And yet, beyond a shadow of a doubt, the video cam footage showed that his breathing was severely restricted because the officer had him in a classic chokehold, causing Floyd to become even more distressed, as the other two officers were pushing him out of the squad car.

During the 9 minutes and 29 seconds Floyd was kept pinned down on the ground by the sheer weight of three of the four officers on the scene that day, not only did Floyd cry out that he was in pain and couldn’t breathe as he kept gasping for air, but the powerless, distraught bystanders also pleaded with the officers to get off his neck and check his pulse; they even repeatedly admonished the officers that he was not moving anymore and looked lifeless. But every one of their pleas fell on deaf ears, because the officers continued to apply more and more pressure until Floyd could no longer be heard crying out as his body remained motionless on the ground before the ambulance arrived.

Without a doubt, the burden of proof lies with the courtroom prosecutors to show that the amount, type and duration of force the officers used on Floyd that fateful day was blatantly excessive, disproportionate and unreasonable.

Body cams don’t lie.