#Ex-cop says he should have been ‘more observant’ during George Floyd arrest

A former Minneapolis police officer described himself as a “human traffic cone” during the killing of George Floyd said he should have been “more observant” while his partner had his knee to the back of Floyd’s neck, a video interview revealed.

Tou Thao, who is one of four former police officers charged in the May 25 death of Floyd, also said in footage of his interrogation released by a Minneapolis court that his “heart kind of sank” the moment he found out Floyd had died in the hospital.

In the video, Thao tells FBI investigators and representatives from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension he did not see all of the actions of his fellow officers, including his partner Derek Chauvin, who knelt on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes.

During the more than one hour interrogation, Thao said that he was worried Floyd could have been experiencing “superhuman” strength as a result of overdosing on drugs at the time of the arrest.

Thao is charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and manslaughter. He’s currently out on bond.

Floyd’s death in policy custody sparked rioting across the country.