(Minneapolis) A Minnesota court examines how a British daily obtained police footage showing the arrest and death of George Floyd.
Posted August 3 2020 at 22 h 20
Associated Press
The tabloid Daily Mail published on Monday clips of videos captured by body cameras of two Minneapolis police officers involved in the arrest of George Floyd on 25 May. A Hennepin County judge last month allowed reporters and members of the public to view the footage by appointment. However, the judge has yet to rule on a request from a media group, including the Associated Press, for the right to broadcast the footage.
The British newspaper article indicates that the videos were transmitted to him via the DailyMail.com site. The website posted about 09 minutes of footage from ex-cop Thomas Lane's body camera and about 18 minutes from ex-policeman J. Alexander Kueng's body camera.
Hennepin County District Court spokesman Spenser Bickett told local media Star Tribune that an investigation was underway into the leak, but he declined to say more.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, whose office is leading the prosecution of the four fired and accused police officers in connection with the death of George Floyd, said he was not at the origin of the leak.
“We will continue to take the strictest precautions to ensure a fair trial,” Keith Ellison said in a statement.
Representatives for the Daily Mail did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press Monday.
George Floyd, a black man who was handcuffed, died after Constable Derek Chauvin, who is white, held his knee to his neck for more than eight minutes, while he complained that he did not to be able to breathe.
The death of George Floyd sparked protests around the world.
Derek Chauvin is charged with second degree murder, third degree murder and manslaughter. Thomas Lane, J. Alexander Kueng and another ex-policeman, Tou Thao, are accused of being accomplices. All four officers were fired.
