George Floyd begged police officers not to shoot him after he was stopped for allegedly trying to use a fake $20 note.
Footage from cameras worn by the four officers who arrested Mr Floyd in May last year has been played to the jury in the trial of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis officer accused of murdering him.
Video recorded by his colleague Thomas Lane showed Mr Floyd begging not to be shot after one of the officers pointed a pistol at him.
Appearing to cry, Mr Floyd says: “Please don’t shoot me, please, man.
“Please, man, I didn’t know.”
An officer is also heard telling him to “stop resisting”, to which Mr Floyd replies: “I’m not.”
As the officers try to put Mr Floyd into the police car, he tells them he is claustrophobic, adding: “I’m a (going to) die, man…I’m not a bad guy.”
The footage goes on to show Mr Floyd being knelt on as he says a number of times: “I love you mama” and “I can’t breathe”.
Chauvin, 45, faces three charges of second and third degree murder and second degree manslaughter.
He is accused of killing the handcuffed Mr Floyd, 46, by pinning him to the pavement for what prosecutors say was nine minutes and 29 seconds as he lay face down and handcuffed.
At Hennepin County courthouse in Minneapolis, the jury heard that Chauvin had defended himself to a bystander as Mr Floyd was taken away by an ambulance.
According to police video, he had described Mr Floyd as “a sizeable guy” and “probably on something”.
Charles McMillian, a 61-year-old bystander, had told Chauvin he did not respect what the officer had done.
“That’s one person’s opinion,” Chauvin could be heard responding. “We gotta control this guy ’cause he’s a sizable guy… and it looks like he’s probably on something.”
Mr Floyd was 6’4 and weighed 223 pounds, according to the autopsy, and Chauvin’s lawyer said the officer is 5’9 and weighs 140 pounds.
The jury also heard from Christopher Martin, 19, who worked at Cup Foods, where Mr Floyd allegedly tried to use the fake $20 note to buy cigarettes.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
George Floyd is restrained by police
Mr Martin testified on Wednesday that he watched Mr Floyd’s arrest outside with “disbelief – and guilt”.
“If I would’ve just not taken the bill, this could’ve been avoided,” he said.
He had immediately concluded the note was fake but he had accepted it, despite thinking his boss would probably take the amount from his pay, because he did not think Mr Floyd knew it was fake and “I thought I’d be doing him a favour”.
After taking the fake note, Mr Martin told his manager, who sent him outside to ask Mr Floyd to return to the shop.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
George Floyd ‘appeared high’ in store, says witness
But Mr Floyd, who had a passenger in his SUV, refused, prompting the manager to ask another employee to call police.
Mr Martin said that Mr Floyd had been friendly and talkative while buying the cigarettes earlier, but that he also spoke very slowly and “it would appear he was high”.
Chauvin’s defence lawyers are trying to persuade the jury that Mr Floyd’s death was not caused by being knelt on by the officer, but instead by illegal drug use, heart disease, high blood pressure, and adrenaline.
They also insist that Chauvin did what he was trained to do in the situation.