The death of George Floyd was more complicated than the liberal media like to portray it, and the leaked police body camera footage this week doesn’t really make the issue any clearer.
If anything, the video takes some air out of the idea that Floyd’s death was the result of one or more racist officers looking to kill another unarmed black man.
That might be why CNN and MSNBC aren’t airing it around the clock the way they had the initial 30-second video of officer Derek Chauvin leaning on Floyd’s neck with his knee.
The footage, first published Monday by the Daily Mail, shows the beginning of Floyd’s encounter with police, starting when officer Thomas Lane approached the parked vehicle that Floyd was sitting in. Lane taps on Floyd’s window, and Floyd, alarmed, shuffles around before opening the door.
From the beginning, it’s clear that Floyd is in some kind of mental or emotional distress, frantically telling Lane, who is pointing a gun at him, and the other officer present, Alexander Kueng, that he’s “sorry” and that he “didn’t do nothing” (despite the police not having accused him of anything) while repeatedly failing to do as instructed.
Floyd was told to keep his hands on the steering wheel, which he didn’t immediately do. He was asked to step out of the car, to which he kept pleading for the officer not to shoot him, even as the Lane told him, multiple times, “I’m not going to shoot you.” (Lane is heard later in the video stating that he is concerned about Floyd’s hands because he thought me might restart the car and attempt to drive away.)
Throughout Floyd’s entire interaction with police, he struggles, perhaps at least in part because he had a genuine fear of the police. He’s seen begging not to be shot. He’s heard telling the police, “I’m not that kind of guy” and that he “just lost my mom.” And he repeats over and over that he’s claustrophobic, that he can’t breathe, and that he feels like he’s going to die.
All of that, however, was taking place before Floyd was forced to the ground. He only ended up on the ground after police were unable to get the 6-foot-four-inch, 223-pound man to sit inside the squad car. Oddly, Floyd asked to be placed lying on the ground instead of in the car.
It is unquestionably strange behavior. Lane had asked the woman with Floyd, “Why’s he getting all squirrelly and not showing us his hands and just being all weird like that?” Even before that, the person who called 911 about Floyd allegedly using counterfeit money to buy cigarettes described Floyd on the call as “awfully drunk” and “not in control of himself.”
Officers also asked Floyd more than once if he was high on anything, to which he said no. But the medical examiner’s report showed he did in fact have both methamphetamine and fentanyl in his blood.
In one conversation between officers Lane and Kueng, Lane says, “He was acting real shady, like something’s in [the car].” Thao asks, “Is he high on something?”
Lane replies, “I’m assuming so.”
Kueng then says, “I believe so. We found a pipe.”
There isn’t anything to indicate, however, that Floyd was targeted for being black or that the officers believed the actions they took weren’t necessary. It may not justify anything, but it is a fair bit of context to say that they had been called to the scene to deal with someone who was in a highly erratic and agitated state, possibly due to drugs, and who seemed incapable of cooperating with officers’ demands.
There is no denying that Floyd appears throughout the video to be scared and in physical distress. The medical report said he had “severe” heart disease and a history of hypertension, the effects of which would be compounded by any form of stress, no less a confrontation with police who would eventually have him on the ground under their knees.
It’s worth noting again, though, that the medical examiner found no injuries to Floyd’s neck and noted nothing remarkable about his esophagus or trachea.
The more information we can get about George Floyd’s death, the better. But as important and helpful as the police body camera footage is, it is apparently of very little interest to CNN and MSNBC.
