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Oklahoma City Police Arrest Black Man Gasping ‘I Can’t Breathe’ Before He Dies

Derrick Scott tried to tell cops he couldn’t breathe before he died. They faced no discipline

Recently released police body camera footage of an incident that resulted in the death of a Black man in Oklahoma City man shows that he gasped the same words as George Floyd in May and Eric Garner six years ago: “I Can’t Breathe.” But one of the officers responds with apparent disregard, NBC News reports.

The video, released by the Oklahoma City Police Department, was from a May 20, 2019 encounter between officers and a man identified as Derrick Scott, 42. They were responding to reports of a man arguing with people and holding a firearm.

Scott reportedly runs from the officers and is asked by Officer Jarred Tipton if he has a weapon. Once they restrain him on the ground, an officer removes a handgun from his pocket. But while they try to pin him, Scott complains that he is not able to breathe, to which Tipton says: “I don’t care.”
Another officer says, “You can breathe just fine.”

A subsequent autopsy says that officers did not cause a “fatal trauma,” according to NBC News, and that other “significant” factors including physical restraint, recent methamphetamine use, asthma, emphysema and heart disease were all contributors to Scott’s death. His cause of death was listed as a collapsed lung, but the manner was listed as “undetermined.”
Oklahoma City Police Capt. Larry Withrow said in a statement that the officers involved in the arrest were not charged and have not been found to be guilty of any wrongdoing. But Scott’s family, who only recently saw the video, says they were responsible for his death.

“You’re seeing from coast to coast police officers being brought to the courtroom and justice being brought about,” said Scott’s brother Robert. “We want the same thing here in Oklahoma for my brother.”

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