The woman whose video images of a Minneapolis police officer taking down a suspect on the street and pinning him under his knee before the man died said Tuesday that "the world needed to see what I was seeing."
The 10-minute cellphone video of the white officer restraining George Floyd, an African-American man, to the pavement Monday night in south Minneapolis has since been viewed hundreds of thousands of times and prompted condemnations from Mayor Jacob Frey, community leaders and others.
Darnella Frazier told the Star Tribune that she started recording "as soon as I heard him trying to fight for his life" in front of her and other bystanders near the intersection of 38th Street and Chicago Avenue S.
"It was like a natural instinct, honestly" to start recording, said Frazier, who lives in the neighborhood. "The world needed to see what I was seeing. Stuff like this happens in silence too many times."
Frazier said she hopes her video revealing the actions taken against George Floyd, of St. Louis Park, can in some way bring about "peace and equality. We are tired of [police] killing us."
She said it was obvious to her that the officer, Derek Chauvin, had "seen how weak [Floyd] was, and he still proceeded. ... My video proves what really happened."
Tuesday morning, community members expressed grief and anger while gathered outside the Cup Foods storefront where Floyd went motionless after protesting that he couldn't breathe in the moments before he died.
"Where he died was right here," Minneapolis resident Charles McMillian said, pointing to a growing memorial of flowers and balloons next to the incident caught on a viral Facebook video when Chauvin knelt on Floyd's neck for several minutes as he pleaded for help before he fell motionless.
