Before George Floyd, Lionel Morris Died The Same Way in February, Body Cam Is Just Now Being Released

This bit of news flew under the radar, literally.  Before the killing of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer in May of 2020, in February of 2020 Arkansas police were called to a local store with a report that there was a couple shoplifting a drone.     

When police arrived they attempted to arrest Lionel Morris and his girlfriend.  However Lionel Morris never made it to jail.

According to police Lionel Morris ran when the attempted to arrest him.  According to police officers they tased Morris several times, as well as punched him because he was allegedly being combative and had at one point reached for a knife.  He eventually died during the ordeal from, according to the medical examiner,Lionel Morris died as a result of a combination of methamphetamine intoxication with exertion, struggle, and conducted electrical weapon deployment.  According to the prosecutor the officers are not guilty of any criminal offenses. 

Now the body cam has been released.  According to the body cam Lionel Morris asked for medical help several times as well as stating that he couldn’t breathe, also heard on the body cam is an officer telling Lionel Morris “If you can talk, you can breathe.”

Take a look at the video below