Former Minneapolis Police Department Officer Thomas Lane's lawyer, Earl Gray, has requested that video of the 2019 arrest of George Floyd be admitted into evidence. Footage of the arrest shows Floyd sitting in the passenger seat of a vehicle that has been stopped by local police officers. After stopping the vehicle, Floyd was asked multiple times to unfasten his seatbelt as he responds, "Don't shoot me, man." Officers ask Floyd to put his hands on the dashboard.
“Put your hands on the dash. It’s the last time I’m going to tell you that. It’s simple. He keeps moving his hands around," the officer said.
An officer also notices that Floyd has a pill in his mouth and asks him to spit it out.
“Open your mouth. Spit out what you’ve got," the officer commands.
The arrest comes to a head when another officer points a taser at Floyd and demands that he cooperate with police. Floyd can be heard in distress as he calls out for his mother.
Gray would like the video admitted in to evidence because he believes Floyd's behavior was similar on the day he was arrested and later died.
Lane was one of four officers involved in attempting to apprehend Floyd on May 25. Former officers J. Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane assisted in restraining officers before former officer Derek Chauvin was caught on camera pressing his knee against Floyd's neck for nearly nine minutes as he cried out for help. Chauvin was charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. Kueng, Lane and their former colleague, Tou Thao, were charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder. All four officers have been released on bail.
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