MINNEAPOLIS – Jurors on Wednesday saw Minneapolis police officers’ body camera footage showing how an initial confrontation over an alleged misdemeanor last year spiraled into George Floyd begging for his life underneath the knee of a police officer as two other officers held him down.
Police departments nationwide have been trying for years to train officers to avoid violence. In 2016, the Minneapolis Police Department rewrote its use of force policy to emphasize the “sanctity of life,” and began training officers in de-escalation — calming people down to prevent violence.
WHY WAS FLOYD ARRESTED? A cashier at Cup Foods told his manager that he believed Floyd had used a counterfeit $20 bill to pay for a pack of cigarettes.