A civil lawsuit has been filed against the city of Minneapolis and the four cops charged in connection with the murder of George Floyd.
The legal action was announced on Wednesday by attorney Ben Crump, who said the move is part of pushing forward with "the discussion that started in America in the aftermath" of Floyd's murder.
"Today we have filed a federal wrongful death civil rights lawsuit on behalf of George Floyd's family and all of his children," Crump said during a press conference on Wednesday. "We are going to have an important conversation that continues based on this lawsuit that documents what we have said all along, which is that it was not just the knee of officer Derek Chauvin on George Floyd’s neck for eight minutes and 46 seconds, but it was the knee of the entire Minneapolis Police Department on the neck of George Floyd that killed him."
Crump, perUSA Today, added that police brutality targeting Black citizens is a deep-rooted issue in the city, with the coverage surrounding this lawsuit boasting the potential to inspire a "tipping point" for policing nationwide.
Also on Wednesday, body cam footage viewed by CNN offers additional context regarding Floyd's murder, which inspired nationwide protests calling for the country to finally reckon with a history of police-helmed abuse of its people. Among the new info was that Floyd's last words, which were not revealed in a previously reported transcript, were "I can't breathe."
The footage showed that Floyd received no explanation for his questioning prior to Lane pointing a gun at him, swearing at him, touching him multiple times, and forcing him out of his car.
The court made the footage captured by Lane and fellow fired officer J. Alexander Kueng publicly viewable Wednesday by appointment. Sixty-six spaces were made available at one-hour increments to watch the videos that totaled about 65 minutes.
All of the officers involved in Floyd's murder have been charged. Derek Chauvin has been charged with second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. The other three—Thomas K. Lane, Tou Thao, and J. Alexander Kueng—have been charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder.
