THE passenger in George Floyd’s car heard him pleading "officer, what’s all this for?" and claimed he was not resisting arrest before he died in police custody.
Maurice Lester Hall, 42, was tracked down and arrested on outstanding warrants in Houston,Texas, on Monday – before opening up about George Floyd's tragic Memorial Day death.
In a Wednesday night interview with the New York Times, Hall revealed: "He was, from the beginning, trying in his humblest form to show he was not resisting in no form or way.
"I could hear him pleading, ‘Please, officer, what’s all this for?’”
Hall had been sitting in the passenger seat of the 46-year-old black man who died on Monday in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
There was also a woman in Floyd's car, whose name Hall said he didn't know, he told The Times.
Floyd died after Officer Derek Chauvin was filmed kneeling on his neck during an arrest, while Floyd shouted "I can't breathe."
“He was just crying out at that time for anyone to help because he was dying," Hall explained.
“I’m going to always remember seeing the fear in Floyd’s face because he’s such a king. That’s what sticks with me, seeing a grown man cry, before seeing a grown man die.”
Hall was interviewed by Minnesota state investigators following his Monday arrest.
According to a Minnesota official, Hall – a key witness in the state's investigation into the four officers that arrested Floyd – gave an alias at the scene of Floyd's controversial arrest.
Hall didn't give his real name as he had outstanding warrants on felony possession of a firearm, felony domestic assault and felony drug possession, the New York Time reports.
When police caught up to Hall, he was at his family's home in Houston and had just finished eating dinner.
Hall said he found approximately a dozen cops surrounding his car and was then was reportedly questioned about Floyd's death, not for his warrants, before being taken to a jail in Houston.
However, Hall's lawyers pushed for his release.
Ashlee C. McFarlane, a partner at Gerger Khalil Hennessy & McFarlane, who is representing Hall, told the Times: “When Mr. Hall’s family found us, he had been isolated in jail for 10 hours after being interrogated until 3 am.
"This is not how you treat a key witness, especially one that had just seen his friend murdered by police."
Hall told the Times: “I knew what was happening, that they were coming. It was inevitable.
"I’m a key witness to the cops murdering George Floyd, and they want to know my side. Whatever I’ve been through, it’s all over with now. It’s not about me.”
Hall and Floyd, both Houston natives, have been in touch since 2016 after they met in Minneapolis through a pastor.
According to a full-length autopsy report released Wednesday, Floyd had coronavirus when he died.
The Hennepin County Medical Examiner's document confirmed Floyd died from a cardiac arrest "complicating law enforcement subdual, restraint and neck compression" – and that he was positive for COVID-19.
All four cops have now been charged over the death of George Floyd with the officer who knelt on him for eight minutes set to face the more serious charge of second-degree murder.
Minnesota’s Attorney General escalated the charge against Derek Chauvin on Wednesday, and announced the charges of aiding and abetting murder for the three other officers.
If convicted, the three officers face the same maximum sentence as Chauvin – up to 50 years in prison.
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