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Police release video of 2019 incident of man dying while in police custody

Posted at 6:45 PM, Jun 12, 2020
and last updated 2020-06-12 20:45:13-04

In a scene reminiscent to what played out in Minneapolis on Memorial Day, Oklahoma City Police released video of a May 2019 incident of a man dying while in police custody.

Body worn camera video was released to the public this week.

The video shows as officers attempted to place him in handcuffs, Derrick Scott told officers multiple times “I can’t breathe,” a line that George Floyd used moments before he died in Minneapolis. One of the officers responded to Scott, “I don’t care.”

The video shows officers struggling to place Scott in handcuffs.

Unlike in the Floyd incident, the only video available from last May’s incident was from body camera footage.

The May 2019 incident began on a call of a black man carrying a gun. After police arrived, officers talked to Scott. The body cam footage then showed officers chasing a fleeing Scott.

Officers caught up to him and tackled Scott. Two officers straddled Scott until a third officer arrived and told Scott to stop resisting.

It took all three officers to bring Scott into custody. An officer continued to hold a knee against Scott’s leg.

Scott then didn’t say anything for four minutes, which prompted officers to call for EMTs. Scott died an hour later. An official autopsy stated that Scott had a collapsed lung at the time of his death, but did not give the manner for his death.

The officers were cleared of wrongdoing.