Police body cam footage from Floyd arrest to be made available by appointment

[Stevicus]

Body camera footage of Floyd arrest could show more of story

MINNEAPOLIS -- Video from the body cameras of two officers charged in George Floyd's death is being made available for public viewing by appointment on Wednesday, but a judge has so far declined to allow news organizations to publish the footage for wider distribution.

Footage from the body cameras of Thomas Lane and J. Kueng was filed with the court last week by Lane's attorney, but only the written transcripts were made public. A coalition of news media organizations and attorneys for Lane and Kueng have said making the videos public would provide a more complete picture of what happened when Floyd was taken into custody.

Why would a judge decline to allow the footage to be released for wider distribution?

The request for releasing the video was made by the attorneys defending the officers who were bystanders in the Floyd case.

The body camera videos and transcripts were filed in court last week by Lane’s attorney, Earl Gray, as part of a motion to have Lane’s case dismissed. Gray said at the time that he wanted the videos to be made public, telling the Star Tribune that they would show the “whole picture." Gray said the bystander video shows just the last piece of what happened and “is not fair.”

Lane's attorney is named Earl Gray.

Kueng's attorney, Tom Plunkett, said in a court filing that he also wants the videos made public. He said releasing information in piecemeal fashion has been catastrophic, leading to incomplete reporting by the media and unfairly portraying evidence in favor of the prosecution.

The video footage could provide a more vivid picture of what happened the night Floyd was arrested on suspicion of passing a fake $20 bill. The transcripts show Floyd appearing cooperative at times but becoming agitated as he begged not to be put in a squad car, saying repeatedly he was claustrophobic. The transcripts also detailed Floyd thrashing about in the back of the squad car to the point where he injured himself.

I do agree that it's a mistake to release information in piecemeal fashion, as the results have been catastrophic. We need a government that believes in full disclosure and transparency.

 

[Sirona]

We need a government that believes in full disclosure and transparency.

I'm just a casual observer but this sentence may sound a bit like wishful thinking these days, at least to me.

 

[Stevicus]

I'm just a casual observer but this sentence may sound a bit like wishful thinking these days, at least to me.

Yeah, I guess I do too much wishing. As a wise philosopher once said, you can wish in one hand and poop in the other, and you'll see which hand fills up first.

But recent times have also shown what can happen when the poop hits the fan, so it seems evident that, the way they're doing things now - it ain't working.