Monday was the first chance the liberal broadcast networks had at giving their viewers a fuller understanding of the day George Floyd was killed by a Minneapolis police officer as two body camera videos were leaked to the U.K.'s Daily Mail. The videos show officers struggling to get Floyd into the cop car with an officer telling him to “stop resisting” at one point. ABC’s World News Tonight skipped the videos entirely, while CBS and NBC aired highly-edited soundbites and omitted the order.
In the video Daily Mail posted on YouTube, Officer Thomas Lane had Floyd out of his vehicle and was trying to get him into handcuffs. At the 2:13-mark, Lane can be heard telling Floyd to “stop resisting,” to which Floyd said: “I’m not.” “Yes, you are,” Lane replied.
That exchange was edited out by both the CBS Evening News and NBC Nightly News. Instead, they chose to mislead. The included video below shows how both networks used the leaked video for selectively edited soundbites.
The media have seen these videos before when officials allowed the media to watch them, but not broadcast them. But CBS anchor Norah O’Donnell hid that fact from viewers. Telling them, “Tonight, we're getting the first look at body cam video from two of the Minneapolis police officers who were on the scene the night George Floyd died in custody.”
At the top of the report, CBS chief Justice correspondent Jeff Pegues used a clip from the leaked footage showing Lane’s initial contact with Floyd. But it cut off before Lane could be heard saying “stop resisting.” Here’s how Pegues framed it for viewers (click “expand”):
PEGUES: For the first time, two leaked body camera videos show the encounter with George Floyd from the officer's perspective. In one, Officer Thomas Lane confronts Floyd trying to get him out of an SUV, a gun aimed in his directions.
OFFICER THOMAS LANE: Both hands.
FLOYD: I didn’t do nothing.
LANE: Both hands up right now!
PEGUES: Later in the footage, Floyd drops to the ground as officers lead him toward a squad car.
LANE: Stop falling down.
FLOYD: I’m claustrophobic, man.
LANE: Stand up.
FLOYD: I’m claustrophobic.
LANE: Stand on your feast feet and face the car door!
FLOYD: Please, man.
At one point, Pegues admitted the video “shows Floyd resisting the officer’s attempt to place him in the squad car.” But again, he never played the audio of Officer Lane.
Meanwhile on NBC, anchor Lester Host noted that leaked video provided “the clearest picture yet of what led up to the deadly confrontation.” And correspondent Gabe Gutierrez admitted: “These body camera videos were viewed in person by NBC News last month, but they have not been distributed publicly.”
Gutierrez also used a soundbite from when Lane was trying to get Floyd out of his SUV, but he too cut off before the order was given. Here’s what NBC used:
FLOYD: Please don't shoot me. Please, man.
LANE: I’m not going to shoot you. Step out and face away.
FLOYD: Please.
GUTIERREZ: Floyd sobs as he tells the officer he'd been shot before.
FLOYD: Please don't shoot me, Mr. Officer, please.
NBC also admitted that the videos showed how “officers handcuffed Floyd and then struggled to get him into the squad car.”
Gutierrez then played this highly-edited clip of the struggle (click “expand”):
FLOYD: Please. I'm claustrophobic. That’s it.
UNIDENTIFIED OFFICER: Well, you're still going in the car.
[Transition]
UNIDENTIFIED OFFICER: You have anything sharp on you?
FLOYD: I won’t do nothing to hurt y’all, Mr. Police Officer. No, sir. [Transition] I am claustrophobic for real, Mr. Officer.
UNIDENTIFIED OFFICER: You got him?
FLOYD: Can you please crack it for me? [Speaking about the back window]
UNIDENTIFIED OFFICER: Yes. I will. I will.
[Transition]
FLOYD: I’m not that kind of guy man.
UNIDENTIFIED OFFICER: Take a seat.
FLOYD: I’m a die in here.
GUTIERREZ: Floyd pleads with the officers.
FLOYD: I'm not a bad guy, man.
UNIDENTIFIED OFFICER: Get in the car.
GUTIERREZ: Says he had anxiety and that he just recovered from COVID-19.
FLOYD: Please! Please! My wrist. My wrist, man. My wrist, man. Please. I’m going to lay on the ground. I’m going to lay on the ground.
While the video doesn’t show any justification for Floyd’s death, it represented an intentionally missed opportunity by the networks to fully inform the public of what happened. A willful abdication of their duty as journalists.
This abdication of their duty was made possible because of lucrative sponsorships from Kia on ABC, Progressive on CBS, and Amazon on NBC. Their contact information is linked if you want to tell them about what they’re sponsoring. CBS Evening News has also asked people to “text Norah” at this number: (202) 217-1107.
The transcripts are below, click "expand" to read:
CBS Evening News
August 3, 2020
6:42:39 p.m. EasternNORAH O’DONNELL: Tonight, we're getting the first look at body cam video from two of the Minneapolis police officers who were on the scene the night George Floyd died in custody. For several minutes, Floyd is heard begging for help and calling for his mother. A warning, the video you're about to see is disturbing. Here's CBS's Jeff Pegues.
[Cuts to video]
GEORGE FLOYD: Look at this.
JEFF PEGUES: For the first time, two leaked body camera videos show the encounter with George Floyd from the officer's perspective. In one, Officer Thomas Lane confronts Floyd trying to get him out of an SUV, a gun aimed in his directions.
OFFICER THOMAS LANE: Both hands.
FLOYD: I didn’t do nothing.
LANE: Both hands up right now!
PEGUES: Later in the footage, Floyd drops to the ground as officers lead him toward a squad car.
LANE: Stop falling down.
FLOYD: I’m claustrophobic, man.
LANE: Stand up.
FLOYD: I’m claustrophobic.
LANE: Stand on your feast feet and face the car door!
FLOYD: Please, man.
PEGUES: The other video, which was also published by the DailyMail.com appears to come from body cam worn by rookie officer, Alexander King. It shows Floyd resisting the officer’s attempt to place him in the squad car. You hear him pleading.
FLOYD: God, I’m claustrophobic, man.
OFFICER ALEXANDER KING: Get in the car.
FLOYD: Can I get in the front?
PEGUES: Also in the video, fired former officer Derek Chauvin, who’s now been charged with second-degree murder
UNIDENTIFIED OFFICER: Come on out.
PEGUES: As soon as Floyd hits the pavement, you see Chauvin’s gloved hands on him and a knee on Floyd's neck.
FLOYD: Please, I can't breathe! Please, man
UNIDENTIFIED OFFICER: Relax.
FLOYD: I can't breathe.
UNIDENTIFIED OFFICER: You're doing fine, you're talking fine.
FLOYD: I can't breathe. I can't breathe
PEGUES: With a crowd gathering, the body cam video shows KIng take Floyd's pulse. According to prosecutors, he couldn't find one.
[Cuts back to live]
There is now an investigation into is it leak of that body camera video. Meantime Norah, we still haven't seen video from the body camera worn by Derek Chauvin, who, of course, pressed his knee into George Floyd's neck. That video may be the key piece of evidence. Norah
O’DONNELL: Jeff Pegues, thank you.
NBC Nightly News
August 3, 2020
7:10:54 p.m. EasternLESTER HOLT: More than two months after the death of George Floyd, tonight the clearest picture yet of what led up to the deadly confrontation from police body cam videos that have been leaked. We want to warn you the images are disturbing. Here's Gabe Gutierrez.
[Cuts to video]
OFFICER THOMAS LANE: Let me see your hands. Stay in the car. Let me see your other hand.
GEORGE FLOYD: I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
GABE GUTIERREZ: Seconds after rookie Minneapolis Police Officer Thomas Lane approaches George Floyd's vehicle, he's already drawn his gun.
LANE: Put your [ bleep ] Hand up there.
GUTIERREZ: These body camera videos were viewed in person by NBC News last month, but they have not been distributed publicly. The DailyMail.com says it obtained a leaked copy. Apparently recorded off a computer screen.
FLOYD: Please don't shoot me. Please, man.
LANE: I’m not going to shoot you. Step out and face away.
FLOYD: Please.
GUTIERREZ: Floyd sobs as he tells the officer he'd been shot before.
FLOYD: Please don't shoot me, Mr. Officer, please.
GUTIERREZ: For the first time, the video showed about a call about an alleged fake $20 bill on Memorial Day escalated into a deadly encounter that would ignite global outrage. The officers handcuffed Floyd and then struggled to get him into the squad car.
FLOYD: Please. I'm claustrophobic. That’s it.
UNIDENTIFIED OFFICER: Well, you're still going in the car.
[Transition]
UNIDENTIFIED OFFICER: You have anything sharp on you?
FLOYD: I won’t do nothing to hurt y’all, Mr. Police Officer. No, sir. [Transition] I am claustrophobic for real, Mr. Officer.
UNIDENTIFIED OFFICER: You got him?
FLOYD: Can you please crack it for me? [Speaking about the back window]
UNIDENTIFIED OFFICER: Yes. I will. I will.
[Transition]
FLOYD: I’m not that kind of guy man.
UNIDENTIFIED OFFICER: Take a seat.
FLOYD: I’m a die in here.
GUTIERREZ: Floyd pleads with the officers.
FLOYD: I'm not a bad guy, man.
UNIDENTIFIED OFFICER: Get in the car.
GUTIERREZ: Says he had anxiety and that he just recovered from COVID-19.
FLOYD: Please! Please! My wrist. My wrist, man. My wrist, man. Please. I’m going to lay on the ground. I’m going to lay on the ground.
GUTIERREZ: Prosecutors have charged the officer who then kneels on Floyd's neck with second-degree murder and manslaughter. The three other officers are accused of aiding and abetting him.
[Cuts back to live]
The Minneapolis Police Department today had no comment on the body camera videos. Neither did the attorneys for three of the four ex-officers. The lawyer for former Officer Thomas Lane says that he'd like the court to release the full videos. Lester?
HOLT: All right. Gabe Gutierrez tonight. Thank you.
