LAPD releases footage of officer placing knee onto neck of NBA's Jaxson Hayes

Body camera footage released by the Los Angeles Police Department Friday showed an officer placing his knee onto the neck of Pelicans center Jaxson Hayes during his arrest last month. 

While the officer's knee was on Hayes' neck, the player gasped "I can't breathe" several times before another officer spoke up and told him to remove his knee from Hayes' neck. 

Hayes was later tased in the chest and was eventually taken into custody. The LAPD posted the edited video to its YouTube channel, which contains disturbing scenes. 

Police were called to a Los Angeles-area home Hayes was staying at late last month on a domestic disturbance call. Police arrived at the home and spoke to Hayes in the driveway. 

The Pelicans star became frustrated and argued with officers when they wouldn't let him go back inside the home. Things escalated, and officers wrestled Hayes to the ground before one put his knee on the NBA player's neck. 

The LAPD announced after Hayes' arrest that it was launching an investigation. Hayes was arrested on suspicion of resisting arrest, and his case is still pending. 

What happened to Hayes is similar to what happened to George Floyd in Minneapolis last year when former officer Derek Chauvin placed his knee into Floyd's neck for more than nine minutes. The LAPD, and many other departments around the country, outlawed neck restraints after Floyd's death. 

Hayes, the eighth overall pick in 2019, averaged 7.5 points and 4.3 rebounds last season for the Pelicans while shooting 62.5% from the field.