George Floyd, a black man in the US, died while a white police officer knelt on his neck and he kept saying that he couldn't breathe. Since his death there has been massive protests in America and widespread condemnation across the world.
Now, it would seem that Floyd was not alone. In a shockingly similar 2019 incident from Oklahoma, 42-year-old Derrick Scott told the three police officials detaining him that he couldn't breathe, and that he needed his medicine.
But it gets worse. One of the police officers can be heard saying "I don't care" even as another opines that Scott "can breathe just fine".
According to an AP news report, after being handcuffed Scott appears to fade in and out of consciousness. Eventually, paramedics are called, and he is placed on a gurney and taken to the hospital. He was later pronounced dead at the hospital.
The footage was released recently by the Oklahoma City Police Department and comes from a body camera. The incident in question is from May 20, 2019. Reportedly, the probable cause of death as per an autopsy report was a collapsed lung. The report had also noted other conditions that seemed likely to have contributed to his demise -- such as asthma and heart disease as well as recent use of methamphetamine and the use of physical restrain.
Interestingly, the AP report suggests that Oklahoma County's District Attorney had cleared all of the officers involved after perusing the autopsy report. “I mean, he’s just a perfect candidate to die when you’ve got meth in your system and those kinds of physical ailments and then you fight with police. They (officers) didn’t do anything wrong at all," David Prater reportedly told AP, citing Scott's heart issues and the fact that he had run from the police.
Now, it must be mentioned that at the beginning of June, Oklahoma officials had been lauded for their response to the protests that had erupted in the wake of George Floyd's death.
According to a video by the ABC affiliated KOCO-TV, the Sheriff's deputies at the Oklahoma County Jail had taken a knee in solidarity with protesters. Some of the officers had also been spotted conversing with and hugging the protesters.
