In response to demands made by a local chapter of Black Lives Matter, Oklahoma City police this week released body camera video of an in-custody death involving a man who told police he couldn’t breathe before dying.
Derrick Ollie Scott was 41 years old when he was arrested back in 2019, according to KTLA sister station KFOR in Oklahoma City.
The release of the video in the year-old case follows the in-custody death of George Floyd, who told Minneapolis police officers that he couldn’t breathe as one knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes.
On May 20, a bystander near Southeast 44th Street and High Avenue called 911, telling the dispatcher Scott was in a parking lot with a gun.
“He’s pulling out a gun on a guy. He’s got his gun in his hand,” the caller can be heard the dispatcher, according to the footage.
The body camera video showed police attempting to arrest Scott when he took off running, with one officer screaming, “Hey, get on the ground.”
The video shows officers catching up to Scott and tackling him.
At one, Scott can be heard telling police that, “I can’t breathe.”
An officer responded, “I don’t care.”
“I need my medicine. I need my medicine,” said Scott, who also called out for his mother at one point.
Police then found a gun in Scott’s pocket, according to officials.
Scott’s mother, Vickey Scott, told KFOR she was unable to watch the entire video.
“You know, when they first tackled him on the foot chase and they looked at him and he said, ‘Don’t hurt me, just don’t hurt me, I can’t breathe,’ and as he was telling them he couldn’t breathe and then the police officer said, ‘I don’t care,’ I couldn’t watch anymore,” she said.
The video then shows Scott appearing to go in and out of consciousness.
“Stay with us,” said an officer.
The officers then appear to try and shake him awake.
Another officer said, “He’s fine.”
Police called for an ambulance and CPR was performed, but Scott later died at the hospital.
An autopsy done by the Oklahoma Medical Examiner’s office shows the probable cause of death as a collapsed lung, but says Scott suffered no fatal trauma. It also lists asthma, meth and physical restraint as contributing factors.
“They monitored his health throughout this incident and you can hear them narrate on the video that he continued to have a pulse and he continued to be breathing,” said Capt. Larry Withrow of the Oklahoma City Police Department.
Police told KFOR the officers involved did everything they were trained to do.
Oklahoma City District Attorney David Prater also wrote a letter of Police Chief Wade Gourley, clearing the officers of any wrongdoing.
“The thing that bothered me in the video was how they treated his life,” said Scott’s uncle, Ronald Scott.
“If that is policy and there is a lack of focus on humanity and civility to anyone, then they certainly need to be addressing and changing that policy effective immediately,” said the Rev. T. Sheri Dickerson, a leader with Black Lives Matter.
Scott’s family also told KFOR it took police days to inform them of Scott’s death, but police say that isn’t true.
Police also said the family could’ve viewed the video sooner had they requested it earlier.
