2:43 PM PT -- The Hennepin County D.A. just responded to the Mayor's call for charges to be brought against the officer who kneeled on Floyd, saying ... "In order to bring charges and obtain a guilty verdict, there are very specific parts of the law which must be met in prosecuting any crime of violence."
The statement continues ... "The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is working as quickly as possible to gather the necessary evidence and we will expeditiously review the case when we receive the case file and make our decision."
12:02 PM PT -- Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey is calling for charges to be brought against the still-unnamed officer who kneeled on George Floyd, eventually suffocating him.
Frey said, "if you had done it, or I had done it, we would be behind bars right now." He wants the Hennepin County D.A. to bring the officer to justice.
Before George Floyd was pinned to the ground by a cop's knee -- and ultimately killed -- he was cuffed by a different officer and seemed to be cooperating ... according to new surveillance footage.
A nearby restaurant, Dragon Wok, captured the initial moments of George's run-in with Minneapolis police on a camera set up outside. Based on the video, this started as a traffic stop of some sort, which ended with George being led away in cuffs.
The video shows 2 vehicles parked curbside, and eventually, 2 officers approach one of the cars and ask everyone to step out. A man and a woman emerge from the passenger side, while George is taken out by another officer on the driver's side ... seemingly struggling at first.
The cops get George to stand up and lead him over to the sidewalk where they sit him down. He isn't doing a whole lot of resisting the rest of the way.
Another police officer eventually arrived, and George was walked across the street and off camera. He was not being led by the officer who was eventually seen with his knee on George's neck.
Remember, police say they were responding to a call for a possible forgery. We're told an employee at a nearby business says George had attempted to pay with a $10 bill they suspected was counterfeit and, as is company policy, had reported it to police.
The surveillance video was released by Dragon Wok's owner Rashad West, who says he wanted to put it out for his community.
It's important to note the video does not show what happened immediately before the officer put the full force of his knee on George's neck ... despite pleas from George of not being able to breathe.
As you know, George's killing sparked violent protests Tuesday evening in Minneapolis. The 4 officers involved have been fired, and the Mayor has called George's death a failure on the part of the police.
Originally Published -- 9:36 AM PT