911 callers from the scene of George Floyd’s killing were horrified, but very clear about what they’d just seen — and it’s more evidence the cops should have seen it the way ordinary citizens did.
Minneapolis released transcripts Wednesday of the 911 calls furiously made to report ex-cop Derek Chauvin violently holding his knee on Floyd’s neck for nearly 9 minutes.
The calls came in at 8:32 PM and within seconds of each other. One caller said, “I literally watched police officers not take a pulse and not do anything to save a man. They f***ing killed him.”
When asked if the caller wants to speak to the supervisor, the caller said, “I’m recording this. I’m, I mean I’m f***ing recording this right now.”
Check out the transcript … the operator offered to transfer the caller to the supervisor but the call disconnects. Another reported, “Yeah I just watched Officer #987 kill a, ah … a citizen in front of a Chicago [ave.] ah…store.”
The caller went on to say, “He had his knee on the dude’s neck the whole time. I don’t even know if he dead for sure but dude was not responsive when the ambulance came and got him, and the officer that was just out here left, the one that actually just murdered the kid in front of everybody.”
It should be noted … Minnesota doesn’t release audio like this, but even in the transcript, you can feel the raw emotion from callers.
As we reported … a 911 dispatcher was concerned enough about the handling of Floyd’s arrest, she called a police supervisor. You hear the dispatcher openly question if the officers needed to use the kind of force she’d seen as she watched live body cam footage from the scene.
Chauvin was arrested four days after Floyd’s death, and initially charged by the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, who is now leading the investigation and prosecution, later filed an additional count of second-degree murder against Chauvin. He’s facing 40 years behind bars — the maximum penalty for second-degree murder.
The three other former officers involved in Floyd’s death — J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao — are each charged with one count of aiding and abetting second-degree murder and one count of aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter.
