911 callers, dispatcher voiced concerns over use of force in George Floyd’s death
(CNN) — At least two callers and a dispatcher were concerned about Minneapolis police officers’ use of force with George Floyd, according to dispatch recordings and transcripts released by the city’s police department Monday.
Floyd eventually died after former officer Derek Chauvin’s knee was pressed on his neck for eight minutes and 46 seconds on May 25.
Chauvin has been fired and charged with second-degree murder. Three other officers on the scene were charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter.
Dispatch calls from that day seemed to share the same level of distress. A concerned dispatcher watching the fatal incident on surveillance cameras felt it was necessary to alert a supervisor about the use of force applied by the officers.
“You can call me a snitch if you want to, but we have the cameras up for 320’s call … I don’t know if they had to use force or not, but they got something out of the back of the squad, and all of them sat on this man, so I don’t know if they needed you or not, but they haven’t said anything to me yet,” the dispatcher was heard saying on the audio call.
Minneapolis police also released two 911 transcripts from May 25. One was from an unidentified off-duty firefighter who witnessed Floyd’s death.
“I literally watched police officers not take a pulse and not do anything to save a man, and I am a first responder myself, and I literally have it on video camera. … I just happened to be on a walk so, this dude, this, they f*****g killed him,” the firefighter told dispatchers.
The other caller was also unidentified and mentioned how an officer “pretty much just killed this guy that wasn’t resisting arrest.” That caller then requested to speak to a supervisor at the Minneapolis 3rd Precinct.
Floyd was buried in Houston on June 9. Actor Jamie Foxx was in the audience and R&B artist Ne-Yo performed a rendition of “It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday” by Boyz II Men. Boxing champion Floyd Mayweather is handling all the expenses for Floyd’s funeral.
Since Floyd’s death, the Minneapolis City Council has been on a mission to restructure the city’s police department. On Friday, the council unanimously approved a resolution declaring it will create a “transformative new model” of policing in the city. This resolution starts a yearlong process to create a new public safety model.