Transcripts of police body cams reveal George Floyd’s final moments

As George Floyd told police he could not breathe, the officer with his knee against his neck said: “It takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk.”

This was according to transcripts of body-camera footage released on Wednesday.

The video of officers Thomas Lane and JAlexander Kueng provide the most detailed account yet of what happened as police took Floyd into custody on May 25.

They reveal more of what was said after Floyd, an African-American man who was handcuffed, was put on the ground.

“You’re going to kill me, man,” he said, a transcript of former officer Lane’s body-camera video footage revealed.

“Then stop talking, stop yelling. It takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk,” said Derek Chauvin, the white officer who held his knee to Floyd’s neck for nearly eight minutes, even after he stopped moving.

“They’ll kill me. They’ll kill me. I can’t breathe. I can’t breathe,” Floyd said.

The transcripts were made public as part of Mr Lane’s request to have the case against him dismissed.

His lawyer, Earl Gray, said there was no probable cause to charge his client, based on all evidence and the law.

Mr Gray portrayed his client as a rookie policeman who trusted Mr Chauvin, a senior officer, after Floyd had been acting erratically, struggling and hurting himself during an arrest.

Mr Gray said that once Floyd was on the ground, Mr Lane asked twice if officers should roll Floyd on his side, and Mr Chauvin said no.

He also submitted the body-camera footage but that was not immediately made public.

The transcripts show Floyd appeared co-operative at times but became agitated as he begged not to be put in a squad car, saying repeatedly that he was claustrophobic.

“Oh man, ... don’t leave me man, please man, please man,” he begged. “I’ll do anything you tell me to, man. I’m just claustrophobic, that’s it.”

Mr Gray wrote that Floyd started to thrash back and forth and was “hitting his face on the glass in the squad and began to bleed from his mouth”.

The officers put him on the ground.

“The plan was to restrain him so he couldn’t move and hurt himself any more,” Mr Gray wrote.

Mr Chauvin is charged with second-degree murder, third-degree murder and manslaughter.

Mr Lane, Mr Kueng and Tou Thao are charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and manslaughter.

Mr Lane was holding Floyd’s legs, Mr Kueng was at his midriff and Mr Thao was watching bystanders. All four were fired from the police force.

A spokesman for the Attorney General’s office said prosecutors planned to oppose Mr Lane’s motion to dismiss.

As part of his court filing, Mr Gray also submitted a transcript of Mr Lane’s interview with state investigators and police department training material on restraint holds.

Mr Gray wrote that all of the evidence exonerated his client and that it was not “fair or reasonable” for Mr Lane to stand trial.