New body camera video: Officers didn't tell second supervisor about restraint of George Floyd

For the second consecutive day, a federal jury saw new video Friday of two former Minneapolis police officers telling a supervisor about their arrest of George Floyd without mentioning that he went unconscious under the weight of Derek Chauvin's knee on his neck.

Prosecutors played former officer Thomas Lane's body camera when he, Chauvin, J. Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao spoke outside Cup Foods with Sgt. David Pleoger, who asked them what happened with Floyd.

Under questioning by Assistant U.S. Attorney LeeAnn Bell, FBI special agent Matthew Vogel said Thao and Chauvin didn't say anything to Pleoger. Bell asked if Lane or Kueng told the sergeant that a neck restraint had been used on Floyd.

"Neither of them mentioned it," Vogel said.

Vogel was on the stand the longest of three witnesses Friday in the trial of Kueng, Lane and Thao. The three are accused of violating Floyd's constitutional right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure by failing to provide him medical aid. Kueng and Thao also are charged with failing to get Chauvin off of Floyd's neck.

In the footage of the discussion with Pleoger, Kueng did most of the talking, describing Floyd wriggling around, making it difficult to restrain him after he and Lane arrived to investigate a call from Cup about Floyd using a counterfeit bill to buy cigarettes. Lane occasionally added some explanation.

Chauvin and Thao were was seen standing silently in the video. The prosecutor asked if Kueng or Lane told the sergeant that Floyd was rendered unconscious in their custody.

"Neither of them mentioned it," Vogel said.

Did they mention not finding a pulse on Floyd, the prosecutor asked.

"It was not mentioned," Vogel said.

Vogel created a timeline of Floyd's detention based on bystander, officer and surveillance video and audio from the scene. Prosecutors merged a transcription of the videos to Vogel's timeline.

Among many details, Vogel testified that Floyd spoke his final words in the video when he said, "I can't breathe."

On cross examination, Thao's attorney Robert Paule talked about "confirmation bias" and the potential for mistakes and misinterpretation of the transcription.

He played one clip and asked Vogel if he heard Floyd say, "I ate too many drugs."

"No, sir," Vogel replied.

Paule responded, "It could be interpreted multiple ways, could it not?"

Vogel answered, "It was unintelligible to me."

Earlier Friday, a teenage witness testified that it was obvious to several bystanders that Floyd was in distress as the officers ignored their pleas to relent.

Alyssa Funari, now 19, testified that she "instantly" knew Floyd was in distress. She was 17 at the time and recorded the video after arriving at Cup Foods in south Minneapolis on May 25, 2020, to buy a phone charger.

"I observed that over time he was slowly being less vocal and he was closing his eyes," Funari testified. "He wasn't able to tell us he was in pain anymore and he was just accepting it."

Funari testified that she didn't see any of the officers provide aid to Floyd.

In his cross-examination of Funari, Paule attempted to show that his client's back was turned to the other officers and Floyd as he corralled the bystanders. Body camera and bystander videos showed that Thao spoke with bystanders, Floyd and his colleagues.

Funari's answers prompted Paule to press her on Thao's ability to see Floyd. "I believe he did look," Funari said. "He might not have been watching the whole time, but he knew what was going on."

In his testimony, Vogel also testified that Thao was standing near the officers, watching over them until after Floyd went unconscious.

Four seconds later, Thao dismissed bystanders' concerns about Floyd, saying "it's hard to talk if you're not breathing," according to Vogel's timeline and the transcript.

Seventeen seconds later, Vogel's timeline had an agitated Funari asking Thao, "Is he talking now?"

Earlier Friday, prosecutors called Mendota Heights Police Chief Kelly McCarthy to testify about training requirements for police officers. McCarthy is chair of the Minnesota Board of Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST), which licenses all officers in Minnesota.

"Once someone is in your custody, they are essentially your baby," McCarthy said. "You have restricted their freedom of movement … so there are things they can no longer do for themselves, so because you're the one who took them into custody, you are now responsible for those things."

McCarthy said the POST board has hundreds of learning objectives required of all officers. Those include learning about "positional asphyxia" and the risks while handcuffing someone, use of force and civilians' constitutional rights, among others.

"They build on each other," McCarthy said of the objectives. "You have to be able to use that whole breadth of knowledge to address situations safely and legally."

Bell said in court that she expects the prosecution to rest its case Monday. Then the defense will present a case. The defense attorneys haven't said how long they will take to present their case. Earl Gray has said his client, Lane, will testify, but it's unknown whether Kueng or Thao will take the stand.

In addition to the federal charges, the three officers also are charged in state court with aiding and abetting Floyd's murder. They are expected to be tried in Hennepin County District Court in June.

Chauvin was convicted in Hennepin County last year of murdering Floyd and pleaded guilty in December to violating Floyd's civil rights. He is serving 22 ¹⁄₂ years in prison in the state case and awaits sentencing in the federal case.

Judge Paul Magnuson also announced that court won't be in session next Friday. He didn't cite a reason, but Lane's attorney Earl Gray is due in Hennepin County court for the sentencing of another client, former Brooklyn Center Police Officer Kimberly Potter.

Potter was convicted of manslaughter last year for shooting Daunte Wright after a traffic stop on April 11, 2020.