George Floyd was calm during his encounter with Minneapolis police last week, authorities said, but things turned deadly after three officers pinned him to the pavement, where he told officers he could not breathe before eventually losing consciousness. An amended criminal complaint released Wednesday against Derek Chauvin, J Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao offered a revealing new look at the last minutes of Floyd's life:
A timeline of events leading to George Floyd's death as outlined in charging documents
Complaint: "Mr. Floyd told the officers that he was not resisting but he did not want to get in the back seat and was claustrophobic."
June 4, 2020 at 9:59AM
8:08 p.m. Officers Lane and Kueng responded to a call about a man using a counterfeit $20 bill at the Cup Foods store on the corner of Chicago Ave. and E. 38th St. They found Floyd, 46, of St. Louis Park, in the driver's seat of a nearby car with two passengers. Lane pointed his gun at Floyd and re-holstered it when Floyd placed his hands on the steering wheel.
Lane ordered Floyd out of the car, then pulled him out and handcuffed him. The complaint said he was "calm," adding that after he was seated on the ground, he thanked Lane.
The officers' body-worn cameras captured the incident.
8:14 p.m. Lane and Kueng walked Floyd to their squad and tried to put him inside. Floyd "stiffened up and fell to the ground."
"Mr. Floyd told the officers that he was not resisting but he did not want to get in the back seat and was claustrophobic," the complaint said.
Chauvin and partner arrive
At some point, officers Chauvin and Thao arrived at the scene in a separate squad. The officers tried several times to get Floyd into the back seat of a squad by "pushing him from the driver's side," the charges said, adding that Floyd "repeatedly said that he could not breathe."
8:19 p.m. Chauvin pulled Floyd out of the squad and he "went to the ground" facedown while still handcuffed. Kueng held onto Floyd's back while Lane restrained his legs and Chauvin placed his left knee on Floyd's neck.
Thao retrieved a hobble restraint from a squad to control Floyd, but the officers opted not to use it. Thao stood watch nearby, and was seen in a video dismissing the concerns of witnesses who pleaded with the officers to stop.
"Mr. Floyd said, 'I can't breathe' multiple times and repeatedly said, 'Mama' and 'please,' as well," the charges say. "At one point, Mr. Floyd said, 'I'm about to die.' "
The complaint noted three times that the three officers did not move from their positions. At one point, an officer told Floyd, "You are talking fine."
Lane asked if they should roll Floyd on his side. Chauvin responded that Floyd was "staying put where we got him."
No pulse detected
8:24 p.m. Floyd's "slight movements" decreased and he stopped moving.
8:25 p.m. Floyd appeared to stop breathing. "Want to roll him on his side?" Lane asked again.
Kueng checked Floyd's pulse. "I couldn't find one," Kueng said.
8:27 p.m. Chauvin removed his knee from Floyd's neck. An ambulance and emergency medical personnel arrived at the scene and transported Floyd to Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC).
9:25 p.m. Floyd was pronounced dead at HCMC after first responders and emergency room staff tried to revive him for nearly an hour.
"Police are trained that this type of restraint with a subject in a prone position is inherently dangerous," said an amended criminal complaint filed Wednesday against Chauvin. "Officer Chauvin's restraint of Mr. Floyd in this manner for a prolonged period was a substantial factor in Mr. Floyd losing consciousness, constituting substantial bodily harm, and Mr. Floyd's death as well."
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