An attorney for a Black man acquitted on eight different counts of attempted murder and assault released video this week that shows exactly why his client was acquitted after being brutalized by police during protests for justice following George Floyd's death in Minneapolis. Jaleel Stallings, 29, was initially charged with counts including second-degree attempted murder, first-degree assault, second-degree riot, and second-degree assault for how he reacted to the sound of shots being fired on May 30, 2020 in the Minneapolis area of 15th Avenue S. and Lake Street, according to The Star Tribune.
At the time, buildings in the area were boarded up and the city had all the markings of the five days of protests and riots that started when Floyd was murdered on May 25, 2020. Buildings had been set ablaze and stores looted, but peaceful protesters also took to the streets to make sure the murderous now-former officer, Derek Chauvin, was held accountable for kneeling on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes. The city responded with multiple curfews, giving police the arsenal they used to go on a spree of brutality. Before police targeted Stallings while driving in an unmarked white van, Sgt. Andrew Bittell ordered his team: “Drive down Lake Street. You see a group, call it out. OK great! F*** ’em up, gas ’em, f*** ’em up,” the Minnesota Reformer reported.
In body-camera footage the nonprofit obtained, Bittell told a SWAT unit: “Alright, we’re rolling down Lake Street. The first f***ers we see, we’re just hammering ’em with 40s.” He meant 40-millimeter marking rounds, or rubber bullets.
Newly released surveillance video obtained by NBC affiliate KARE 11 shows police pulling up to the area Stallings was in. At the time, an unnamed pedestrian was shouting, “They’re shooting! They’re shooting,” the news station reported. Stallings was hit in the chest, and the sound of a rubber bullet being fired can be heard in the body-camera footage. Next, the louder bangs of an actual gun could be heard. They came from Stallings, who fired in between the moments he was ducked behind a parked car, taking cover.
Stallings’ attorney Eric Rice told KARE 11 he thought the “white supremacists” Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz had warned about earlier that day were shooting at him. “Who would expect if shots were immediately fired and one strikes you in the chest, who would expect that it was the police,” the attorney asked.
When the video footage shows officers getting out of the van, Stallings laid on the ground, remaining there several seconds before officers got close enough to kick and beat him. His face was fractured in the attack, KARE 11 reported. Bittell claimed Stallings was resisting when officers approached him.
YouTube Video
Garrett Parten, a spokesman for the Minneapolis Police Department, told the Star Tribune an internal affairs investigation us underway.
The newspaper recounted disturbing comments officers made in body-camera video footage, including the remarks of Lt. Johnny Mercil, who oversees use-of-force training for officers:
The Star Tribune also listed an exchange captured on officer Joseph Adams' body camera that shows him saying it was a "busy night" to Cmdr. Bruce Folkens. The commander responded: "Tonight it was just nice to hear 'We're gonna find some more people instead of chasing people around ... you guys are out hunting people now, it's just a nice change of tempo ...[Expletive] these people."
At the time, buildings in the area were boarded up and the city had all the markings of the five days of protests and riots that started when Floyd was murdered on May 25, 2020. Buildings had been set ablaze and stores looted, but peaceful protesters also took to the streets to make sure the murderous now-former officer, Derek Chauvin, was held accountable for kneeling on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes. The city responded with multiple curfews, giving police the arsenal they used to go on a spree of brutality. Before police targeted Stallings while driving in an unmarked white van, Sgt. Andrew Bittell ordered his team: “Drive down Lake Street. You see a group, call it out. OK great! F*** ’em up, gas ’em, f*** ’em up,” the Minnesota Reformer reported.
In body-camera footage the nonprofit obtained, Bittell told a SWAT unit: “Alright, we’re rolling down Lake Street. The first f***ers we see, we’re just hammering ’em with 40s.” He meant 40-millimeter marking rounds, or rubber bullets.
Newly released surveillance video obtained by NBC affiliate KARE 11 shows police pulling up to the area Stallings was in. At the time, an unnamed pedestrian was shouting, “They’re shooting! They’re shooting,” the news station reported. Stallings was hit in the chest, and the sound of a rubber bullet being fired can be heard in the body-camera footage. Next, the louder bangs of an actual gun could be heard. They came from Stallings, who fired in between the moments he was ducked behind a parked car, taking cover.
Stallings’ attorney Eric Rice told KARE 11 he thought the “white supremacists” Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz had warned about earlier that day were shooting at him. “Who would expect if shots were immediately fired and one strikes you in the chest, who would expect that it was the police,” the attorney asked.
When the video footage shows officers getting out of the van, Stallings laid on the ground, remaining there several seconds before officers got close enough to kick and beat him. His face was fractured in the attack, KARE 11 reported. Bittell claimed Stallings was resisting when officers approached him.
YouTube Video
Garrett Parten, a spokesman for the Minneapolis Police Department, told the Star Tribune an internal affairs investigation us underway.
The newspaper recounted disturbing comments officers made in body-camera video footage, including the remarks of Lt. Johnny Mercil, who oversees use-of-force training for officers:
The Star Tribune also listed an exchange captured on officer Joseph Adams' body camera that shows him saying it was a "busy night" to Cmdr. Bruce Folkens. The commander responded: "Tonight it was just nice to hear 'We're gonna find some more people instead of chasing people around ... you guys are out hunting people now, it's just a nice change of tempo ...[Expletive] these people."