A horrifying new video shows the perspective of Minneapolis officer Tou Thao, the partner of convicted Minneapolis officer Derek Chauvin, ignoring the pleas for help from bystanders as George Floyd, the black man whom Chauvin murdered, gasped for air. Chauvin knelt on Floyd's neck for almost nine minutes before he died.
New perspective
The controversial video was released on August 9 by Ben Crump, a civil rights attorney representing Floyd's family. The video shows bystanders desperately asking Thao to help Floyd and stop Chauvin, according to CNN.
According to Crump, Thao stood guard as Chauvin murdered Floyd while witnesses of the execution tried to stand up for justice and tried to save Floyd's life.
Crump called Chauvin, Thao, and the two other police officers, Thomas Lane and J. Alexander Kueng, to be convicted of murder. In the video, a man and a woman were heard urging the officers to check Floyd's pulse before more bystanders are heard pleading with the officers to help Floyd.
Also Read: George Floyd and Derek Chauvin Knew Each Other, Reports Claimed They Had Clashed Numerous Times
Despite the pleas for help, Thao did not try to get Chauvin off of Floyd's neck. He continued to argue with the bystanders and yelled for them to not intervene and remain on the sidewalk.
After 10 minutes, paramedic arrived and lifted Floyd's lifeless body off the pavement and onto a stretcher. Chauvin, Thao, Lane, and Kueng have all been fired from the police department.
Chauvin was fired from the Minneapolis Police Department and arrested days after Floyd's death. He was charged with third-degree murder before it was upgraded to second-degree murder.
On August 3, Chauvin's bail was set to $1.25 million. The three other officers have been charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder, as reported by CNBC.
Black lives matter
After Floyd's death, the Black Lives Matter protests erupted all over the world. While the majority of protests remained peaceful, there were businesses, buildings, and police departments that were burned after some demonstrations turned violent in numerous US cities.
Protesters have demanded justice for Floyd and other black people who were killed by law enforcement officers such as Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, and Rayshard Brooks.
Demonstrators have also marched for Ahmaud Arbery, who was shot dead by a white man in Georgia back in February.
Floyd was laid to rest in Houston, Texas, days before the world witnessed another black man die at the hands of police. Rayshard Brooks was shot dead by an officer in the parking lot of a Wendy's in Atlanta, Georgia.
The police who killed Brooks, Officer Garrett Rolfe, was fired from the force. According to investigators, Brooks fought with officers and took one of their tasers before fleeing and pointing the stun gun at Rolfe as he ran away.
However, Rolfe's bodycam showed otherwise as Brooks was asleep in the driver's seat of his car when the officers dragged him out and pointed a gun at him, as reported by Washington Post.
The incident led to protesters burning Wendy's branch where Brooks was murdered. A series of arson attacks were also reported in Atlanta.
Protests erupted across the US, in New York, protesters held placards that read "stop defending a broken system" and "Black Lives Matter."
In California, the words "All Black Lives Matter" were painted on a street in Hollywood ahead of a Black Lives Matter and LGBTQ+ solidarity march.
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