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A 911 dispatcher flagged live video of George Floyd's arrest to her supervisor, saying 'call me a snitch if you want to'

Jun 16, 2020, 19:53 IST
Business Insider
Protesters confront police outside the 3rd Police Precinct on May 27, 2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.Stephen Maturen/Getty Images
  • A 911 call dispatcher alerted her supervisor to footage of George Floyd's arrest apparently in real time, according to newly released audio.
  • "Call me a snitch if you want," said the dispatcher, who added that the footage looked "a little different."
  • The supervisor said he would look into it but added that some uses of force did not require the officers to report the incident.
  • Minneapolis police policy says any use of force thought to have caused an injury should be reported to supervisors unless the injuries are the result of a takedown technique, according to Sky News.
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Newly released audio reveals that a 911 call dispatcher alerted her supervisor to video of George Floyd's killing.

The audio includes a conversation between the dispatcher and her supervisor over footage from the site of the arrest, according to the Associated Press.

During the May 25 arrest, the police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on the neck of Floyd, who was handcuffed, for more than eight minutes. Floyd's death was ruled a homicide.

In the audio, the dispatcher, who apparently was watching in real time, said the footage looked "a little different" and told her supervisor that "all of them sat on this man."

"I don't know, you can call me a snitch if you want to, but we have the cameras up for [squad car] 320's call," she said.

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She also said: "I don't know if they have use of force or not, they've got something out of the back of the squad and all of them sat on this man. So I don't know if they needed to or not. But they haven't said anything to me yet."

The exchange was about the department's use-of-force policy, which requires that supervisors be notified if a use of force is thought to have caused injury, according to Sky News. There are exceptions for some types of physical restraint, called takedown techniques.

The supervisor replied: "Yeah, they haven't said anything. Unless it's just a takedown, which doesn't count, but I'll find out."

The dispatcher then said: "OK. We don't ever get to see it, so when we see it we're just like, woah, uh, well. It's a little different."

Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin.Ramsey County Sheriff's Office via AP

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Chauvin has been charged with second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter over Floyd's death.

Chauvin's colleagues Thomas Lane, J. Kueng, and Tou Thao have also been charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and manslaughter. All four officers were fired.

Bystander footage of the killing spread widely on social media, prompting mass protests against police brutality and calls for racial equality. The protests have now entered their fourth week.

Transcripts of 911 calls from two bystanders at the scene have also been released, with one caller saying the police had "pretty much just killed this guy."

Expanded Coverage Module: black-lives-matter-module
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