Newly released body camera footage revealed exactly how members of the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) felt about demonstrators during the unrest following the murder of George Floyd.
According to CBS Minneapolis, the footage was released by the attorney of Jaleel Stallings, a man who cops shot with rubber bullets. He returned fire with a gun that he was authorized to carry. Once officers started racing toward Stallings, he went to the ground and the members of the MPD beat him for almost 30 seconds. In September, he was acquitted of several criminal charges, including second-degree attempted murder.
In one of the clips, several officers were riding together in a van on May 30, 2020 — just five days after Floyd was killed. The cops were caught expressing their hatred for those who were protesting. They also said how excited they were to shoot at them. “We’re gonna split up, drive down Lake Street,” said one officer. “You see a fuckin’ group, call it out. Ok, great. Fuck ’em up, gas ’em, fuck ‘em up.”
A sergeant who was commanding the unit said, “Let ’em have it, boys, let ’em have it … Right there, get ’em, get ’em, get ’em, hit ’em, hit ’em!”
At one point, an officer who fired rounds at a distant crowd of protesters said, “Gotcha!” as he hit someone. The group of officers then began to laugh, and the cop who fired was congratulated with a “Good hit, buddy” and a fist bump.
“You guys are out hunting people now and it’s just a nice change of tempo,” one officer said. “Fuck these people.”
Elsewhere, an officer impersonated the “Looney Tunes” character Elmer Fudd. “Be vewy, vewy quiet [laughs]. We’re hunting activists!” he said. The sergeant then said not to turn on lights or sirens. “It’s like a slow jog in the park finding people,” he stated.
Check out the body camera footage below.