Video shows Arkansas police saying 'If you can talk, you can breathe' before man dies in custody
An Arkansas police officer during a February arrest told a man who later died in police custody, "If you can talk, you can breathe," according to newly released footage.
The police department in Conway, Ark., released edited footage of the arrest Wednesday, according to a local CBS affiliate. During the incident, police placed Lionel Morris, 39, and a second man under arrest after a call reporting they had removed a drone from its packaging in a Harp’s store.
Morris fled from officers, who tackled him in a different part of the store, tasing him several times while trying to subdue him. Conway Police Chief William Tapley has claimed Morris reached for a knife clipped to his pocket, but at that point, the footage cuts to a security camera in a corner of the store.
As an officer places his knee against Morris’s back, Morris can be heard saying he is unable to breathe, while the officer responds, “If you can talk, you can breathe.” Prosecuting attorney Carol Crews has said Morris was placed in a “recovery position” and rolled onto his side, but that is not visible in the video.
https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/509707-video-shows-ark-police-saying-if-you-can-talk-you-can-breathe-before-man
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