*Darnella Frazier, the teenager who filmed former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin’s fatal encounter with George Floyd last May, reflected on the tragedy on Tuesday, the one-year anniversary of Floyd’s death.
Floyd, a Black man, died on Memorial Day in 2020 after Chauvin, who is white, pinned his knee against Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes as Floyd cried out for his mother and said “I can’t breathe” more than 20 times before he went limp and lost consciousness.
The 18-year-old has been praised for her role in securing justice for Floyd, as her video sparked global demonstrations over police brutality and social injustice and reignited the Black Lives Matter movement.
Frazier hit up Facebook on Tuesday to explain the ways her life has changed since the incident.
“Although this wasn’t the first time, I’ve seen a black man get killed at the hands of the police, this is the first time I witnessed it happen in front of me. Right in front of my eyes, a few feet away,” she wrote.
It’s been a year since then 17-year-old Darnella Frazier recorded the murder of George Floyd. She has not done media interviews or made public statements outside of her trial testimony. Today she released her first full public comments. Worth a read: pic.twitter.com/P9xKdo1IoL
— Wesley (@WesleyLowery) May 25, 2021
“I didn’t know this man from a can of paint, but I knew his life mattered. I knew that he was in pain. I knew that he was another black man in danger with no power. I was only 17 at the time, just a normal day for me walking my 9-year-old cousin to the corner store, not even prepared for what I was about to see, not even knowing my life was going to change on this exact day in those exact moments… it did. It changed me. It changed how I viewed life. It made me realize how dangerous it is to be Black in America … A part of my childhood was taken from me,” she continued.
Frazier also indicated she has no regrets about sharing her cellphone footage with the world.
“Even though this was a traumatic life-changing experience for me, I’m proud of myself. If it weren’t for my video, the world wouldn’t have known the truth. I own that …” she said. “George Floyd, I can’t express enough how I wish things could have went different, but I want you to know you will always be in my heart. I’ll always remember this day because of you. May your soul rest in peace.”
Frazier’s video was key evidence in the murder trial of Derek Chauvin. Last month he was found guilty of second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and manslaughter.
Chauvin is scheduled to be sentenced next month.
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