Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, Jun 03, 2025

Bodycam Video Of A Black Man Repeatedly Telling Corrections Officers "I Can't Breathe" Before He Died Has Been Released

Bodycam Video Of A Black Man Repeatedly Telling Corrections Officers "I Can't Breathe" Before He Died Has Been Released

John Neville, 56, told officers in the North Carolina jail that he couldn't breathe more than 20 times while they restrained him during a medical episode. He died in a hospital two days later.

A judge authorized the release of body camera footage this week showing officers in a North Carolina jail restraining a 56-year-old Black man as he repeatedly says "I can't breathe" before losing consciousness and later dying.

In the footage, John Neville can be heard repeatedly telling officers in Forsyth County Detention Center in Winston-Salem that he was unable to breathe. He died two days later in hospital in December 2019.

Five detention officers were fired and a nurse was placed on administrative leave, ABC News reported. All six have been charged with involuntary manslaughter.

The release of the footage, months after the incident took place, came as a result of legal petitions from various news organizations. (The video below is graphic.)



Two separate clips have been released, and they show a special response team attending to Neville who was found on the floor by his cellmate, experiencing a medical episode with vomit on his clothing and blood around his mouth. He had apparently fallen to the floor from the top bunk of the bed.

“It looks like you had a seizure,” the attending nurse said.

Visibly disoriented, Neville didn’t respond when asked to confirm his last name, and after a period of silence struggled as officers continued to restrain him.

They placed a spit hood over his head, and Neville was wheeled in a chair to an observation room while handcuffed. He was then transferred to another cell where he was placed on a mat and held in a prone position - facedown - with his arms in handcuffs.

“Please, please, I can’t breathe, help me, help me, please,” pleaded Neville, who became distressed and told officers that he was unable to breathe more than 20 times. Instead, he was further restrained by officers who pulled his legs behind him.

“You’re breathing ‘cause you’re talking, you’re yelling and you’re moving. You need to stop. You need to relax, quit resisting us,” responded an officer who attempted to remove Neville’s handcuffs, but struggled because the key had broken off in the lock.

They resorted to using a bolt cutter to remove the handcuffs, and on the advice of someone not visible on camera, the officers released Neville’s legs “so he can breathe.”

With Neville in a prone position, officers can be heard exchanging jokes about the damage to the handcuffs.

“Whose cuffs were those? ... It’s coming out of your paycheck,” said one officer.

An extended period of silence from Neville prompted an officer to check in on him but he remained unresponsive.

“John you alright buddy? I promise we’re going to be done in a few minutes alright?” the officer said. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

When the cuffs were removed, the officers and nurse were unable to get a clear response from Neville and they all exited the cell, leaving him unattended for a moment, only to re-enter shortly after to clarify whether he was breathing.

The footage ends with the attending nurse performing chest compressions for CPR.

Neville, a father from Greensboro, North Carolina was arrested on Dec. 1 last year and held on an assault charge. The incident at the prison took place the following day and he died at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center two days later.

According to the autopsy, he died of a brain injury due to "positional and compressional asphyxia during prone restraint.”

In a press conference on Aug. 4, ahead of the footage being released, Sheriff Bobby F. Kimbrough issued an apology to Neville’s family and suggested renaming a housing unit at the Forsyth County Detention Center in his honor.

"I apologize again for what happened on that day," said Kimbrough, “We're sorry for the mistakes made that day. I take responsibility for that as the sheriff."

Kimbrough told reporters that the “tragic” footage had brought him to tears.

The details of Neville’s death were made public following an investigation by The News & Observer and underpin the most recent wave of nationwide protests set in motion by the death of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man who died after a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for more than eight minutes.

Along with calling for major police reform, the protests have ignited a reckoning over racial injustice across the country and in many industries.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Dutch government falls as far-right leader Wilders quits coalition
Harvard Urges US to Unfreeze Funds for Public Health Research
Businessman Mauled by Lion at Luxury Namibian Lodge
Researchers Consider New Destinations Beyond the U.S.
53-Year-Old Doctor Claims Biological Age of 23
Trump Struggles to Secure Trade Deals With China and Europe
Russia to Return 6,000 Corpses Under Ukraine Prisoner Swap Deal
Microsoft Lays Off Hundreds More Amid Restructuring
Harvey Weinstein’s Publicist Embraces Notoriety
Macron and Meloni Seek Unity Despite Tensions
Trump Administration Accused of Obstructing Deportation Cases
Newark Mayor Sues Over Arrest at Immigration Facility
Center-Left Candidate Projected to Win South Korean Presidency
Trump’s Tariffs Predicted to Stall Global Economic Growth
South Korea’s President-Elect Expected to Take Softer Line on Trump and North Korea
Trump’s China Strategy Remains a Geopolitical Puzzle
Ukraine Executes Long-Range Drone Strikes on Russian Airbases
Conservative Karol Nawrocki wins Poland’s presidential election
Study Identifies Potential Radicalization Risk Among Over One Million Muslims in Germany
Good news: Annalena Baerbock Elected President of the UN General Assembly
Apple Appeals EU Law Over User Data Sharing Requirements
South Africa: "First Black Bank" Collapses after Being Looted by Owners
Poland will now withdraw from the EU migration pact after pro-Trump nationalist wins Election
"That's Disgusting, Don’t Say It Again": The Trump Joke That Made the President Boil
Trump Cancels NASA Nominee Over Democratic Donations
Paris Saint-Germain's Greatest Triumph Is Football’s Lowest Point
OnlyFans for Sale: From Lockdown Lifeline to Eight-Billion-Dollar Empire
Mayor’s Security Officer Implicated | Shocking New Details Emerge in NYC Kidnapping Case
Hegseth Warns of Potential Chinese Military Action Against Taiwan
OPEC+ Agrees to Increase Oil Output for Third Consecutive Month
Jamie Dimon Warns U.S. Bond Market Faces Pressure from Rising Debt
Turkey Detains Istanbul Officials Amid Anti-Corruption Crackdown
Taylor Swift Gains Ownership of Her First Six Albums
Bangkok Ranked World's Top City for Remote Work in 2025
Satirical Sketch Sparks Political Spouse Feud in South Korea
Indonesia Quarry Collapse Leaves Multiple Dead and Missing
South Korean Election Video Pulled Amid Misogyny Outcry
Asian Economies Shift Away from US Dollar Amid Trade Tensions
Netflix Investigates Allegations of On-Set Mistreatment in K-Drama Production
US Defence Chief Reaffirms Strong Ties with Singapore Amid Regional Tensions
Vietnam Faces Strategic Dilemma Over China's Mekong River Projects
Malaysia's First AI Preacher Sparks Debate on Islamic Principles
White House Press Secretary Criticizes Harvard Funding, Advocates for Vocational Training
France to Implement Nationwide Smoking Ban in Outdoor Spaces Frequented by Children
Meta and Anduril Collaborate on AI-Driven Military Augmented Reality Systems
Russia's Fossil Fuel Revenues Approach €900 Billion Since Ukraine Invasion
U.S. Justice Department Reduces American Bar Association's Role in Judicial Nominations
U.S. Department of Energy Unveils 'Doudna' Supercomputer to Advance AI Research
U.S. SEC Dismisses Lawsuit Against Binance Amid Regulatory Shift
Alcohol Industry Faces Increased Scrutiny Amid Health Concerns
×