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Chauvin Trial Day 11 Wrap-Up: Trial Expected to End Testimony This Week
Judge Cahill Tells Jury to Expect Deliberations, and Sequestration, On Monday
Posted by Andrew Branca Monday, April 12, 2021 at 11:20pm 30 Comments
'A big momma's boy': Floyd's brother offers 'spark of life' testimony at Chauvin murder trial
Author of the article:Reuters
Reuters
Jonathan Allen
Publishing date:Apr 12, 2021 • 19 hours ago • 3 minute read • Join the conversation
Philonise Floyd speaks about his brother as he answers questions during the eleventh day of the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin for second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minn., April 12, 2021 in a still image from video.
Philonise Floyd speaks about his brother as he answers questions during the eleventh day of the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin for second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minn., April 12, 2021 in a still image from video. PHOTO BY POOL VIA REUTERS /Pool via REUTERS
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MINNEAPOLIS — Prosecutors on Monday neared the end of their case in the murder trial of former Minneapolis policeman Derek Chauvin, calling George Floyd’s younger brother to the stand for emotional testimony about how his sibling grew up obsessed with basketball and doting on his mother.
“He was a big momma’s boy,” Philonise Floyd said after jurors looked at a picture of his older brother in his mother’s arms while Chauvin sat across the courtroom, writing notes on a yellow legal pad with his head down.
The younger Floyd, who at one point broke down in tears, was among the final witnesses called by the state. Prosecutors are expected to rest on Tuesday after finishing some procedural matters, calling no more witnesses.
Chauvin’s lawyers will then mount his defence, with closing statements expected next Monday. Chauvin, 45, has pleaded not guilty to murder and manslaughter charges, arguing he was following the training he had received during his 19 years on the force.
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Philonise Floyd’s testimony served as a bookend to a string of eyewitnesses the prosecution called in the first days of the two-week-old trial. From a 9-year-old girl to a 61-year-old man, the witnesses described their despair and horror as they watched Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, plead for his life while pinned by the neck to the ground by the white officer’s knee for more than nine minutes.
Sandwiched between them and Floyd’s brother was a series of police experts, including the Minneapolis police chief himself, called by prosecutors from the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office to testify that Chauvin used excessive force in subduing Floyd.
Seven doctors with different medical specialties told the jury it was Chauvin’s actions that killed Floyd, not a drug overdose, as the defence has contended.
Floyd’s brother was called under a Minnesota doctrine that allows loved ones of a crime victim to address the jury in what is called “spark of life” testimony.
Prosecutors also used the brother’s testimony in a bid to pre-emptively undermine the argument advanced by Chauvin’s lawyers to convince jurors that Floyd died of a drug overdose, rather than by homicide at the hands of police, as the medical examiner ruled.
Before his arrest, Floyd was heard on video telling officers that he was “hooping” earlier. Eric Nelson, Chauvin’s lead attorney, has contended the term “hooping” is urban slang for taking drugs rectally, a theory that prosecutors have ridiculed.
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After showing photographs of a young George Floyd dressed in an orange basketball uniform, prosecutor Steve Schleicher asked the brother: “When he would talk about playing basketball, would he use any particular term or phrase?”
“He said: ‘Let’s go hooping,'” Philonise Floyd replied. “We always went hooping. You have to hoop every day.”
Before the jury arrived on Monday, Chauvin sought to have its members sequestered in light of the fatal police shooting of a Black man at a traffic stop on Sunday in Brooklyn Center, a suburban city just north of Minneapolis.
Hennepin County District Judge Peter Cahill denied the request, although he planned to sequester jurors by confining them to a hotel once they begin deliberations in downtown Minneapolis, which is already heavily fortified against potential unrest based on the outcome of the high-profile trial.
The shooting, which police said happened after an officer accidentally grabbed her gun instead of her Taser, sparked a night of angry protests, with Brooklyn Center police firing rubber bullets and chemical irritants at protesters. Curfews have been imposed for Monday evening in the city.
DOTED ON HIS MOTHER
Philonise Floyd told the jurors about family life when the two brothers were boys. They would love trying to beat each other at Nintendo video games, he said, and were raised with their three siblings in a Houston housing project by a mother everyone in the community called Miss Cissy.
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There were marks on the wall left as the adolescent George Floyd checked his height, hoping to grow big enough to be a basketball player. George Floyd would end up well over 6 feet tall.
Philonise Floyd added his brother was thoughtful as a youngster.
“George couldn’t cook, he couldn’t boil water,” the brother said, but could nonetheless make “the best banana mayonnaise sandwiches” if he thought others were hungry.
George Floyd doted on his mother most of all, his brother said.
“He would always be up on our mom. He was a big momma’s boy,” he told jurors. “He would lay upon her in the fetal position like he was still in the womb.”
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Reuters
Reuters
Jonathan Allen
Publishing date:Apr 12, 2021 • 19 hours ago • 3 minute read • Join the conversation
Philonise Floyd speaks about his brother as he answers questions during the eleventh day of the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin for second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minn., April 12, 2021 in a still image from video.
Philonise Floyd speaks about his brother as he answers questions during the eleventh day of the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin for second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minn., April 12, 2021 in a still image from video. PHOTO BY POOL VIA REUTERS /Pool via REUTERS
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MINNEAPOLIS — Prosecutors on Monday neared the end of their case in the murder trial of former Minneapolis policeman Derek Chauvin, calling George Floyd’s younger brother to the stand for emotional testimony about how his sibling grew up obsessed with basketball and doting on his mother.
“He was a big momma’s boy,” Philonise Floyd said after jurors looked at a picture of his older brother in his mother’s arms while Chauvin sat across the courtroom, writing notes on a yellow legal pad with his head down.
The younger Floyd, who at one point broke down in tears, was among the final witnesses called by the state. Prosecutors are expected to rest on Tuesday after finishing some procedural matters, calling no more witnesses.
Chauvin’s lawyers will then mount his defence, with closing statements expected next Monday. Chauvin, 45, has pleaded not guilty to murder and manslaughter charges, arguing he was following the training he had received during his 19 years on the force.
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Philonise Floyd’s testimony served as a bookend to a string of eyewitnesses the prosecution called in the first days of the two-week-old trial. From a 9-year-old girl to a 61-year-old man, the witnesses described their despair and horror as they watched Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, plead for his life while pinned by the neck to the ground by the white officer’s knee for more than nine minutes.
Sandwiched between them and Floyd’s brother was a series of police experts, including the Minneapolis police chief himself, called by prosecutors from the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office to testify that Chauvin used excessive force in subduing Floyd.
Seven doctors with different medical specialties told the jury it was Chauvin’s actions that killed Floyd, not a drug overdose, as the defence has contended.
Floyd’s brother was called under a Minnesota doctrine that allows loved ones of a crime victim to address the jury in what is called “spark of life” testimony.
Prosecutors also used the brother’s testimony in a bid to pre-emptively undermine the argument advanced by Chauvin’s lawyers to convince jurors that Floyd died of a drug overdose, rather than by homicide at the hands of police, as the medical examiner ruled.
Before his arrest, Floyd was heard on video telling officers that he was “hooping” earlier. Eric Nelson, Chauvin’s lead attorney, has contended the term “hooping” is urban slang for taking drugs rectally, a theory that prosecutors have ridiculed.
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After showing photographs of a young George Floyd dressed in an orange basketball uniform, prosecutor Steve Schleicher asked the brother: “When he would talk about playing basketball, would he use any particular term or phrase?”
“He said: ‘Let’s go hooping,'” Philonise Floyd replied. “We always went hooping. You have to hoop every day.”
Before the jury arrived on Monday, Chauvin sought to have its members sequestered in light of the fatal police shooting of a Black man at a traffic stop on Sunday in Brooklyn Center, a suburban city just north of Minneapolis.
Hennepin County District Judge Peter Cahill denied the request, although he planned to sequester jurors by confining them to a hotel once they begin deliberations in downtown Minneapolis, which is already heavily fortified against potential unrest based on the outcome of the high-profile trial.
The shooting, which police said happened after an officer accidentally grabbed her gun instead of her Taser, sparked a night of angry protests, with Brooklyn Center police firing rubber bullets and chemical irritants at protesters. Curfews have been imposed for Monday evening in the city.
DOTED ON HIS MOTHER
Philonise Floyd told the jurors about family life when the two brothers were boys. They would love trying to beat each other at Nintendo video games, he said, and were raised with their three siblings in a Houston housing project by a mother everyone in the community called Miss Cissy.
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There were marks on the wall left as the adolescent George Floyd checked his height, hoping to grow big enough to be a basketball player. George Floyd would end up well over 6 feet tall.
Philonise Floyd added his brother was thoughtful as a youngster.
“George couldn’t cook, he couldn’t boil water,” the brother said, but could nonetheless make “the best banana mayonnaise sandwiches” if he thought others were hungry.
George Floyd doted on his mother most of all, his brother said.
“He would always be up on our mom. He was a big momma’s boy,” he told jurors. “He would lay upon her in the fetal position like he was still in the womb.”
'A big momma's boy': Floyd's brother offers 'spark of life' testimony at Chauvin murder trial
MINNEAPOLIS — Prosecutors on Monday neared the end of their case in the murder trial of former Minneapolis policeman Derek Chauvin, calling George Floyd’s younger b…
Chauvin's lawyers call officer in previous arrest to the stand as first witness
Author of the article:Reuters
Reuters
Jonathan Allen and Brendan O'Brien
Publishing date:Apr 13, 2021 • 4 hours ago • 4 minute read • Join the conversation
An image of George Floyd's arrest by Officer Derek Chauvin plays on a screen, on the eighth day of the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in Minneapolis April 7, 2021 in this courtroom sketch.
An image of George Floyd's arrest by Officer Derek Chauvin plays on a screen, on the eighth day of the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in Minneapolis April 7, 2021 in this courtroom sketch. PHOTO BY JANE ROSENBERG /via REUTERS
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MINNEAPOLIS — Lawyers for Derek Chauvin on Tuesday began presenting their case in the former Minneapolis policeman’s murder trial, calling to the stand a now-retired officer who pulled over a car in which Floyd was a passenger in 2019 – a year before his deadly encounter with Chauvin.
Chauvin’s lead attorney, Eric Nelson, argued in court filings that the earlier arrest supported his defence that a drug overdose may have caused Floyd’s death in May 2020, not a lack of oxygen caused by Chauvin kneeling on his neck for more than nine minutes, as prosecutors charge.
Nelson showed the jury a video taken by a body-worn camera during the May 6, 2019, traffic stop in which Floyd became distressed as the officer, Scott Creighton, pointed a gun at him and ordered him out of a car.
“The passenger was unresponsive and noncompliant to my commands,” Creighton told the jury on Tuesday, describing Floyd as nervous and anxious. “I then had to reach in to him because I wanted to see his hands.”
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Before Creighton took the stand, Judge Peter Cahill warned jurors that the evidence was being admitted for the limited purpose of showing what effects the ingestion of opioids may have had on George Floyd.
“This evidence is not to be used as evidence of the character of George Floyd,” the judge said.
Chauvin, who is white, has pleaded not guilty to murder and manslaughter charges for pinning Floyd’s neck to the ground in the deadly arrest on May 25, 2020. His lawyers have also argued that Chauvin was following the training he had received during his 19 years on the force.
Before testimony began on Tuesday, prosecutors rested their case after finishing some procedural matters involving video footage from one of the officers’ body cameras.
Here are some important moments from the 12th day of witness testimony:
SCOTT CREIGHTON, RETIRED MINNEAPOLIS POLICE OFFICER
Scott Creighton, the retired Minneapolis police officer, was the first witness to take the stand for the defence.
Creighton said that Floyd repeatedly turned away from him and toward the driver as he continued to give him commands.
He testified that he drew his service weapon.
In the video, Creighton is heard saying, “Keep your hands where I can see them.”
He then repeatedly ordered Floyd to keep his hands on the dashboard.
“You’re not going to get beat up or nothing,” Creighton said on the video to a distraught Floyd.
During cross-examination, prosecutors asked Creighton whether Floyd died during the encounter.
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“No, he did not,” the retired officer said.
MICHELLE MOSENG, RETIRED PARAMEDIC WHO TREATED FLOYD ON MAY 6, 2019
Michelle Moseng, a retired paramedic for Hennepin County Medical Center Emergency Medical Services, told the jury that she checked Floyd’s vitals at the police station after the May 6, 2019, arrest. “It was quite hard to assess him,” she testified. “He was upset and confused.” Moseng said that Floyd told her he consumed opioids. On cross-examination, Moseng said that Floyd took Percocet, a combination of Oxycodone and acetaminophen used to treat pain.
“I asked him why, and he said because he was addicted,” she testified.
SHAWANDA HILL, WOMAN IN THE BACK SEAT OF FLOYD’S CAR
Shawanda Hill – who was in Floyd’s SUV with him when police arrived on May 25, 2020 – took the stand for the defence. Hill described Floyd as “happy,” “normal” and “alert” when she saw him in the Cup Foods and asked him for a ride home.
Hill got into his Mercedes-Benz where she and Floyd chatted for about eight minutes before he fell asleep.
She testified that she tried to wake him a couple of times and that she was able to wake him but he nodded off again.
Hill also told jurors Floyd was asleep when clerks from the store came outside to resolve an issue with a counterfeit $20 bill.
“I told them that I would wake him up because I didn’t have money on me at the time,” she said.
Floyd was asleep and startled awake when officers arrived and tapped on the window, Hill testified.
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PETER CHANG, MINNEAPOLIS PARK POLICE OFFICER
Minneapolis Park Police officer Peter Chang testified for the defence that when he arrived at the scene he was told to go across the street to where Floyd’s two passengers, Hill and Morries Hall, stood near his SUV.
Chang testified that he was concerned for the police officers’ safety.
“There was a crowd,” he told the jury. “They were very aggressive toward the officers.”
Chauvin’s defence has argued that bystanders who watched the incident unfold threatened the officers.
The jury then viewed footage from Chang’s body camera, showing his interaction with Hill and Hall. The pair stood against a wall as Chang spoke to them while Chauvin and the other officers struggled with Floyd across the street.
“Damn, he still won’t get in the car. Just sit down, dude,” Hill is heard saying on the video as she watched from afar.
Chang is heard telling them not to go into the vehicle.
On cross-examination, Chang testified that when he arrived, Floyd was sitting on the curb and was not agitated. He also testified that the four officers who were with Floyd never radioed for more help.
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Reuters
Reuters
Jonathan Allen and Brendan O'Brien
Publishing date:Apr 13, 2021 • 4 hours ago • 4 minute read • Join the conversation
An image of George Floyd's arrest by Officer Derek Chauvin plays on a screen, on the eighth day of the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in Minneapolis April 7, 2021 in this courtroom sketch.
An image of George Floyd's arrest by Officer Derek Chauvin plays on a screen, on the eighth day of the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in Minneapolis April 7, 2021 in this courtroom sketch. PHOTO BY JANE ROSENBERG /via REUTERS
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MINNEAPOLIS — Lawyers for Derek Chauvin on Tuesday began presenting their case in the former Minneapolis policeman’s murder trial, calling to the stand a now-retired officer who pulled over a car in which Floyd was a passenger in 2019 – a year before his deadly encounter with Chauvin.
Chauvin’s lead attorney, Eric Nelson, argued in court filings that the earlier arrest supported his defence that a drug overdose may have caused Floyd’s death in May 2020, not a lack of oxygen caused by Chauvin kneeling on his neck for more than nine minutes, as prosecutors charge.
Nelson showed the jury a video taken by a body-worn camera during the May 6, 2019, traffic stop in which Floyd became distressed as the officer, Scott Creighton, pointed a gun at him and ordered him out of a car.
“The passenger was unresponsive and noncompliant to my commands,” Creighton told the jury on Tuesday, describing Floyd as nervous and anxious. “I then had to reach in to him because I wanted to see his hands.”
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Before Creighton took the stand, Judge Peter Cahill warned jurors that the evidence was being admitted for the limited purpose of showing what effects the ingestion of opioids may have had on George Floyd.
“This evidence is not to be used as evidence of the character of George Floyd,” the judge said.
Chauvin, who is white, has pleaded not guilty to murder and manslaughter charges for pinning Floyd’s neck to the ground in the deadly arrest on May 25, 2020. His lawyers have also argued that Chauvin was following the training he had received during his 19 years on the force.
Before testimony began on Tuesday, prosecutors rested their case after finishing some procedural matters involving video footage from one of the officers’ body cameras.
Here are some important moments from the 12th day of witness testimony:
SCOTT CREIGHTON, RETIRED MINNEAPOLIS POLICE OFFICER
Scott Creighton, the retired Minneapolis police officer, was the first witness to take the stand for the defence.
Creighton said that Floyd repeatedly turned away from him and toward the driver as he continued to give him commands.
He testified that he drew his service weapon.
In the video, Creighton is heard saying, “Keep your hands where I can see them.”
He then repeatedly ordered Floyd to keep his hands on the dashboard.
“You’re not going to get beat up or nothing,” Creighton said on the video to a distraught Floyd.
During cross-examination, prosecutors asked Creighton whether Floyd died during the encounter.
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“No, he did not,” the retired officer said.
MICHELLE MOSENG, RETIRED PARAMEDIC WHO TREATED FLOYD ON MAY 6, 2019
Michelle Moseng, a retired paramedic for Hennepin County Medical Center Emergency Medical Services, told the jury that she checked Floyd’s vitals at the police station after the May 6, 2019, arrest. “It was quite hard to assess him,” she testified. “He was upset and confused.” Moseng said that Floyd told her he consumed opioids. On cross-examination, Moseng said that Floyd took Percocet, a combination of Oxycodone and acetaminophen used to treat pain.
“I asked him why, and he said because he was addicted,” she testified.
SHAWANDA HILL, WOMAN IN THE BACK SEAT OF FLOYD’S CAR
Shawanda Hill – who was in Floyd’s SUV with him when police arrived on May 25, 2020 – took the stand for the defence. Hill described Floyd as “happy,” “normal” and “alert” when she saw him in the Cup Foods and asked him for a ride home.
Hill got into his Mercedes-Benz where she and Floyd chatted for about eight minutes before he fell asleep.
She testified that she tried to wake him a couple of times and that she was able to wake him but he nodded off again.
Hill also told jurors Floyd was asleep when clerks from the store came outside to resolve an issue with a counterfeit $20 bill.
“I told them that I would wake him up because I didn’t have money on me at the time,” she said.
Floyd was asleep and startled awake when officers arrived and tapped on the window, Hill testified.
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PETER CHANG, MINNEAPOLIS PARK POLICE OFFICER
Minneapolis Park Police officer Peter Chang testified for the defence that when he arrived at the scene he was told to go across the street to where Floyd’s two passengers, Hill and Morries Hall, stood near his SUV.
Chang testified that he was concerned for the police officers’ safety.
“There was a crowd,” he told the jury. “They were very aggressive toward the officers.”
Chauvin’s defence has argued that bystanders who watched the incident unfold threatened the officers.
The jury then viewed footage from Chang’s body camera, showing his interaction with Hill and Hall. The pair stood against a wall as Chang spoke to them while Chauvin and the other officers struggled with Floyd across the street.
“Damn, he still won’t get in the car. Just sit down, dude,” Hill is heard saying on the video as she watched from afar.
Chang is heard telling them not to go into the vehicle.
On cross-examination, Chang testified that when he arrived, Floyd was sitting on the curb and was not agitated. He also testified that the four officers who were with Floyd never radioed for more help.
Use-of-force expert testifies that Chauvin justified in deadly arrest of Floyd
MINNEAPOLIS — Defence attorneys in the murder trial of Derek Chauvin on Tuesday called an expert witness who testified that the former Minneapolis police officer wa…
Use-of-force expert testifies that Chauvin justified in deadly arrest of Floyd
Author of the article:Reuters
Reuters
Jonathan Allen and Brendan O'Brien
Publishing date:Apr 13, 2021 • 13 hours ago • 3 minute read • Join the conversation
An image of George Floyd's arrest by Officer Derek Chauvin plays on a screen, on the eighth day of the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in Minneapolis April 7, 2021 in this courtroom sketch.
An image of George Floyd's arrest by Officer Derek Chauvin plays on a screen, on the eighth day of the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in Minneapolis April 7, 2021 in this courtroom sketch. PHOTO BY JANE ROSENBERG /via REUTERS
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MINNEAPOLIS — Defence attorneys in the murder trial of Derek Chauvin on Tuesday called an expert witness who testified that the former Minneapolis police officer was justified and reasonable in his use of force during his arrest of George Floyd.
After 11 days of testimony by prosecution witnesses, Eric Nelson, lead attorney for Chauvin, called Barry Brodd, a private consultant in the use of force by law enforcement who said Chauvin was following his training during the encounter.
His testimony contradicted several prosecution witnesses, including the city police chief, who earlier in the trial said Chauvin had no justification for kneeling on the 46-year-old Black man’s neck for more than nine minutes.
“Officer Chauvin’s interactions with Mr. Floyd were following his training, following current practices and were objectively reasonable,” Brodd testified.
Chauvin’s defence team also sought to highlight Floyd’s apparent history of drug abuse, laying groundwork to support its argument that he died of an overdose, rather than from lack of oxygen caused by Chauvin’s actions as the prosecution contends.
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Chauvin, who is white, has pleaded not guilty to murder and manslaughter charges stemming from the May 2020 incident, captured on bystander videos. The case prompted protests against racism and police brutality in cities in the United States and around the world last summer.
This week, local tensions surrounding the trial intensified when a young Black man was fatally shot by a police officer during a traffic stop in nearby Brooklyn Center, Minnesota.
Many of the most dramatic moments on Tuesday came during the cross examination of Brodd. Prosecutor Steve Schleicher, challenging the claim that Chauvin was justified in his use of force, got Brodd to agree that Chauvin continued restraining Floyd even after the man had stopped resisting.
“By the time the defendant got off of Mr. Floyd, Mr. Floyd could not support his own head,” Schleicher said. Brodd agreed.
Brodd testified that a compliant person “would have both their hands in the small their back and just be resting comfortably.”
Schleicher tersely responded, asking Brodd whether Floyd was compliant and resting comfortably “when he’s attempting to breathe.”
“No,” Brodd responded.
ENCOUNTER A YEAR EARLIER
The first witness called by Chauvin’s defence was Scott Creighton, a now-retired Minneapolis police officer who pulled over a car in which Floyd was a passenger in 2019, a year before his deadly encounter with Chauvin.
Nelson showed the jury a video taken by a body-worn camera during the traffic stop as Floyd became distressed when Creighton pointed a gun at him and ordered him out of a car.
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“The passenger was unresponsive and noncompliant to my commands,” Creighton told the jury, describing Floyd as nervous and anxious. “I then had to reach in to him because I wanted to see his hands.” He repeatedly ordered Floyd to keep his hands on the dashboard.
During cross-examination, prosecutors asked Creighton whether Floyd died during the encounter.
“No, he did not,” the retired officer said, stating the obvious.
Another witness was Michelle Moseng, a retired paramedic for Hennepin County Medical Center Emergency Medical Services, who told the jury that she checked Floyd’s vital signs at a police station after the 2019 arrest. “It was quite hard to assess him,” she testified. “He was upset and confused.”
Moseng said that Floyd told her he consumed opioids because he “was addicted.”
In the current case, Shawanda Hill was in Floyd’s SUV with him outside a food store where he allegedly had paid for cigarettes with a bogus $20 bill. She testified that Floyd soon fell asleep and she tried to wake him a couple of times with little success, bolstering the defence claim that Floyd was high on drugs during the deadly interaction with police.
Nelson also called Minneapolis Park Police officer Peter Chang to testify that when he arrived at the scene he grew concerned for the safety of the police officers who were there.
“There was a crowd,” he told the jury. “They were very aggressive toward the officers.”
Chauvin’s defence has argued that bystanders who watched the incident unfold threatened the officers and that Chauvin may have been distracted by them.
Before testimony from defence witnesses began on Tuesday, prosecutors rested their case after finishing some procedural matters involving video footage from one of the officers’ body cameras.
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Reuters
Reuters
Jonathan Allen and Brendan O'Brien
Publishing date:Apr 13, 2021 • 13 hours ago • 3 minute read • Join the conversation
An image of George Floyd's arrest by Officer Derek Chauvin plays on a screen, on the eighth day of the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in Minneapolis April 7, 2021 in this courtroom sketch.
An image of George Floyd's arrest by Officer Derek Chauvin plays on a screen, on the eighth day of the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in Minneapolis April 7, 2021 in this courtroom sketch. PHOTO BY JANE ROSENBERG /via REUTERS
Article content
MINNEAPOLIS — Defence attorneys in the murder trial of Derek Chauvin on Tuesday called an expert witness who testified that the former Minneapolis police officer was justified and reasonable in his use of force during his arrest of George Floyd.
After 11 days of testimony by prosecution witnesses, Eric Nelson, lead attorney for Chauvin, called Barry Brodd, a private consultant in the use of force by law enforcement who said Chauvin was following his training during the encounter.
His testimony contradicted several prosecution witnesses, including the city police chief, who earlier in the trial said Chauvin had no justification for kneeling on the 46-year-old Black man’s neck for more than nine minutes.
“Officer Chauvin’s interactions with Mr. Floyd were following his training, following current practices and were objectively reasonable,” Brodd testified.
Chauvin’s defence team also sought to highlight Floyd’s apparent history of drug abuse, laying groundwork to support its argument that he died of an overdose, rather than from lack of oxygen caused by Chauvin’s actions as the prosecution contends.
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Chauvin, who is white, has pleaded not guilty to murder and manslaughter charges stemming from the May 2020 incident, captured on bystander videos. The case prompted protests against racism and police brutality in cities in the United States and around the world last summer.
This week, local tensions surrounding the trial intensified when a young Black man was fatally shot by a police officer during a traffic stop in nearby Brooklyn Center, Minnesota.
Many of the most dramatic moments on Tuesday came during the cross examination of Brodd. Prosecutor Steve Schleicher, challenging the claim that Chauvin was justified in his use of force, got Brodd to agree that Chauvin continued restraining Floyd even after the man had stopped resisting.
“By the time the defendant got off of Mr. Floyd, Mr. Floyd could not support his own head,” Schleicher said. Brodd agreed.
Brodd testified that a compliant person “would have both their hands in the small their back and just be resting comfortably.”
Schleicher tersely responded, asking Brodd whether Floyd was compliant and resting comfortably “when he’s attempting to breathe.”
“No,” Brodd responded.
ENCOUNTER A YEAR EARLIER
The first witness called by Chauvin’s defence was Scott Creighton, a now-retired Minneapolis police officer who pulled over a car in which Floyd was a passenger in 2019, a year before his deadly encounter with Chauvin.
Nelson showed the jury a video taken by a body-worn camera during the traffic stop as Floyd became distressed when Creighton pointed a gun at him and ordered him out of a car.
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“The passenger was unresponsive and noncompliant to my commands,” Creighton told the jury, describing Floyd as nervous and anxious. “I then had to reach in to him because I wanted to see his hands.” He repeatedly ordered Floyd to keep his hands on the dashboard.
During cross-examination, prosecutors asked Creighton whether Floyd died during the encounter.
“No, he did not,” the retired officer said, stating the obvious.
Another witness was Michelle Moseng, a retired paramedic for Hennepin County Medical Center Emergency Medical Services, who told the jury that she checked Floyd’s vital signs at a police station after the 2019 arrest. “It was quite hard to assess him,” she testified. “He was upset and confused.”
Moseng said that Floyd told her he consumed opioids because he “was addicted.”
In the current case, Shawanda Hill was in Floyd’s SUV with him outside a food store where he allegedly had paid for cigarettes with a bogus $20 bill. She testified that Floyd soon fell asleep and she tried to wake him a couple of times with little success, bolstering the defence claim that Floyd was high on drugs during the deadly interaction with police.
Nelson also called Minneapolis Park Police officer Peter Chang to testify that when he arrived at the scene he grew concerned for the safety of the police officers who were there.
“There was a crowd,” he told the jury. “They were very aggressive toward the officers.”
Chauvin’s defence has argued that bystanders who watched the incident unfold threatened the officers and that Chauvin may have been distracted by them.
Before testimony from defence witnesses began on Tuesday, prosecutors rested their case after finishing some procedural matters involving video footage from one of the officers’ body cameras.
Use-of-force expert testifies that Chauvin justified in deadly arrest of Floyd
MINNEAPOLIS — Defence attorneys in the murder trial of Derek Chauvin on Tuesday called an expert witness who testified that the former Minneapolis police officer wa…
CHAUVIN MURDER TRIAL: Prosecutors grill defence expert who said George Floyd died from heart disease, exhaust fumes
Author of the article:Reuters
Reuters
Jonathan Allen
Publishing date:Apr 14, 2021 • 3 hours ago • 3 minute read • Join the conversation
The former chief medical examiner of Maryland, Dr. David Fowler, answers questions during the thirteenth day of the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin for second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S. April 14, 2021 in a still image from video.
The former chief medical examiner of Maryland, Dr. David Fowler, answers questions during the thirteenth day of the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin for second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S. April 14, 2021 in a still image from video. PHOTO BY POOL /via REUTERS
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MINNEAPOLIS — A medical expert who testified in defence of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin told jurors on Wednesday he believed George Floyd’s death while under arrest was the result of heart disease which made his heart beat erratically.
Dr. David Fowler, a forensic pathologist who was Maryland’s chief medical examiner until his retirement in 2019, also told the jury he believed exhaust fumes from the police car next to which Chauvin pinned Floyd to the road may also have contributed to Floyd’s death in May 2020.
Still, under cross-examination, Fowler agreed with a prosecutor who said Floyd should have been given immediate first aid when his heart stopped beating during the arrest, video of which sparked global protests against police brutality and racism.
Chauvin’s central defence against murder and manslaughter charges has been to raise doubts about the cause of Floyd’s death. Dr. Andrew Baker, Hennepin County’s chief medical examiner, ruled the death a homicide last year caused by Chauvin and other officers restraining Floyd in a way that starved his body of oxygen.
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Fowler, one of Chauvin’s most important witnesses, disputed at least some of Baker’s conclusions, telling the jury he believed the manner of death could be considered a homicide, but he would have instead ruled it “undecided.”
Chauvin, who is white, was seen kneeling on Floyd’s neck for nine minutes while Floyd, a Black man in handcuffs, pleaded for his life before going limp.
Fowler said Floyd’s death was caused by his heart suddenly beating in an erratic way, known as sudden cardiac arrhythmia.
This was a result of his “atherosclerotic and hypertensive heart disease” during the police restraint, Fowler said, using medical terms to describe the narrowing of blood vessels and heart problems caused by high blood pressure.
Fowler said the way Floyd struggled with police trying to get him into their car may have caused stress that led to the sudden arrhythmia.
The fentanyl and methamphetamine found in Floyd’s blood and carbon monoxide poisoning from the exhaust fumes of the adjacent police car may have contributed to the death, Fowler said.
Asked why Chauvin and other officers by the car were not harmed by carbon monoxide poisoning, Fowler replied that their heads were farther from the exhaust pipes than Floyd’s, and “hopefully they’re younger” than Floyd. At the time of Floyd’s death, Chauvin was 44 and Floyd was 46.
‘UNDECIDED’
The jury has previously heard from medical experts called by prosecutors from the Minnesota attorney general’s office, who say Floyd had high blood pressure, a slightly enlarged heart and used opioid painkillers but that none of them caused his death.
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Those experts agreed with the findings on Floyd’s death certificate that his death resulted from being unable to inhale enough oxygen due to the way police compressed his prone body against the road. Baker, the chief medical examiner who certified Floyd’s death, told the jury he stands by his findings.
Chauvin’s lead lawyer, Eric Nelson, asked Fowler if Floyd died in a homicide or by some other manner of death.
“This is one of those cases where you have so many conflicting different manners,” Fowler said. “The carbon monoxide would usually be classified as an accident, although somebody was holding him there, so you could elevate that to a homicide.”
In the end, Fowler, the only witness who testified on Wednesday, said he would “fall back to ‘undetermined’ on this particular case.”
Fowler has been involved in other high-profile cases involving police using force against Black people. His office ruled the 2015 death of Freddie Gray in Baltimore a homicide after Gray, 25, suffered spinal injuries in the back of a police van.
In December, Fowler was sued in federal court by the family of Anton Black, who was 19 when he died in 2018 in police custody. Fowler ruled Black’s death an accident, but Black’s family said Fowler and other Maryland officials “covered up and obscured police responsibility” for Black’s death.
Under cross-examination, Fowler conceded to Jerry Blackwell, a prosecutor, that he did not know for certain whether the police car was still running during Floyd’s arrest.
Chauvin kept his knee on Floyd’s neck for more than three minutes after Floyd stopped breathing, which his own expert witness agreed was wrong.
“Are you critical of the fact that he wasn’t given immediate medical care when he went into cardiac arrest?” Blackwell asked.
“As a physician, I would agree,” Fowler replied.
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Reuters
Reuters
Jonathan Allen
Publishing date:Apr 14, 2021 • 3 hours ago • 3 minute read • Join the conversation
The former chief medical examiner of Maryland, Dr. David Fowler, answers questions during the thirteenth day of the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin for second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S. April 14, 2021 in a still image from video.
The former chief medical examiner of Maryland, Dr. David Fowler, answers questions during the thirteenth day of the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin for second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S. April 14, 2021 in a still image from video. PHOTO BY POOL /via REUTERS
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MINNEAPOLIS — A medical expert who testified in defence of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin told jurors on Wednesday he believed George Floyd’s death while under arrest was the result of heart disease which made his heart beat erratically.
Dr. David Fowler, a forensic pathologist who was Maryland’s chief medical examiner until his retirement in 2019, also told the jury he believed exhaust fumes from the police car next to which Chauvin pinned Floyd to the road may also have contributed to Floyd’s death in May 2020.
Still, under cross-examination, Fowler agreed with a prosecutor who said Floyd should have been given immediate first aid when his heart stopped beating during the arrest, video of which sparked global protests against police brutality and racism.
Chauvin’s central defence against murder and manslaughter charges has been to raise doubts about the cause of Floyd’s death. Dr. Andrew Baker, Hennepin County’s chief medical examiner, ruled the death a homicide last year caused by Chauvin and other officers restraining Floyd in a way that starved his body of oxygen.
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Fowler, one of Chauvin’s most important witnesses, disputed at least some of Baker’s conclusions, telling the jury he believed the manner of death could be considered a homicide, but he would have instead ruled it “undecided.”
Chauvin, who is white, was seen kneeling on Floyd’s neck for nine minutes while Floyd, a Black man in handcuffs, pleaded for his life before going limp.
Fowler said Floyd’s death was caused by his heart suddenly beating in an erratic way, known as sudden cardiac arrhythmia.
This was a result of his “atherosclerotic and hypertensive heart disease” during the police restraint, Fowler said, using medical terms to describe the narrowing of blood vessels and heart problems caused by high blood pressure.
Fowler said the way Floyd struggled with police trying to get him into their car may have caused stress that led to the sudden arrhythmia.
The fentanyl and methamphetamine found in Floyd’s blood and carbon monoxide poisoning from the exhaust fumes of the adjacent police car may have contributed to the death, Fowler said.
Asked why Chauvin and other officers by the car were not harmed by carbon monoxide poisoning, Fowler replied that their heads were farther from the exhaust pipes than Floyd’s, and “hopefully they’re younger” than Floyd. At the time of Floyd’s death, Chauvin was 44 and Floyd was 46.
‘UNDECIDED’
The jury has previously heard from medical experts called by prosecutors from the Minnesota attorney general’s office, who say Floyd had high blood pressure, a slightly enlarged heart and used opioid painkillers but that none of them caused his death.
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Those experts agreed with the findings on Floyd’s death certificate that his death resulted from being unable to inhale enough oxygen due to the way police compressed his prone body against the road. Baker, the chief medical examiner who certified Floyd’s death, told the jury he stands by his findings.
Chauvin’s lead lawyer, Eric Nelson, asked Fowler if Floyd died in a homicide or by some other manner of death.
“This is one of those cases where you have so many conflicting different manners,” Fowler said. “The carbon monoxide would usually be classified as an accident, although somebody was holding him there, so you could elevate that to a homicide.”
In the end, Fowler, the only witness who testified on Wednesday, said he would “fall back to ‘undetermined’ on this particular case.”
Fowler has been involved in other high-profile cases involving police using force against Black people. His office ruled the 2015 death of Freddie Gray in Baltimore a homicide after Gray, 25, suffered spinal injuries in the back of a police van.
In December, Fowler was sued in federal court by the family of Anton Black, who was 19 when he died in 2018 in police custody. Fowler ruled Black’s death an accident, but Black’s family said Fowler and other Maryland officials “covered up and obscured police responsibility” for Black’s death.
Under cross-examination, Fowler conceded to Jerry Blackwell, a prosecutor, that he did not know for certain whether the police car was still running during Floyd’s arrest.
Chauvin kept his knee on Floyd’s neck for more than three minutes after Floyd stopped breathing, which his own expert witness agreed was wrong.
“Are you critical of the fact that he wasn’t given immediate medical care when he went into cardiac arrest?” Blackwell asked.
“As a physician, I would agree,” Fowler replied.
CHAUVIN MURDER TRIAL: Prosecutors grill defence expert who said George Floyd died from heart disease, exhaust fumes
MINNEAPOLIS — A medical expert who testified in defence of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin told jurors on Wednesday he believed George Floyd’s death…
Chauvin Trial Day 13 Wrap-Up: Solid Day for Defense With Forensic Expert Witness
Blackwell scored no major points, hit with “My Cousin Vinny”-style response
Posted by Andrew Branca Wednesday, April 14, 2021 at 10:22pm 56 Comments
Chauvin waives right to testify, rests case at murder trial for Floyd arrest
Author of the article:Reuters
Reuters
Jonathan Allen
Publishing date:Apr 15, 2021 • 6 hours ago • 3 minute read • 6 Comments
This handout photo provided by the Hennepin County Jail shows a booking photo for former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin.
This handout photo provided by the Hennepin County Jail shows a booking photo for former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. PHOTO BY HENNEPIN COUNTY JAIL / HANDOUT /AFP via Getty Images / Files
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MINNEAPOLIS — Former Minneapolis policeman Derek Chauvin on Thursday waived his right to testify to the jury about his part in the deadly arrest last May of George Floyd as both sides rested their cases at his murder trial, the most high-profile police misconduct case in decades.
“I will invoke my Fifth Amendment privilege today,” Chauvin, 45, said in a hearing before the jury was brought in on Thursday morning after briefly removing his mask, referring to the constitutional right against self-incrimination. They were his most extensive remarks since his trial began with jury selection on March 8.
The defence told Hennepin County District Judge Peter Cahill it would call no more witnesses after two days of testimony and rested its case, which has focused on raising doubts about what caused Floyd’s death.
It is rare for defendants to take the stand in a criminal case because they face intense cross-examination by prosecutors and risk undermining their case and credibility.
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After a short appearance by a rebuttal witness, prosecutors from the Minnesota attorney general’s office also rested their case.
Cahill said jurors would hear closing arguments on Monday before receiving the case for deliberations. They will be sequestered at a hotel in a city whose downtown is filled with National Guard troops and boarded-up windows, preparing for potential unrest.
“If I were you, I would plan for long and hope for short,” Cahill told jurors on the question of how much to pack.
As the trial unfolded, tensions escalated across Minneapolis after a police officer in nearby Brooklyn Center shot and killed Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old Black man, during a traffic stop on Sunday. Hundreds of protesters massed outside Brooklyn Center police headquarters for a fourth night on Wednesday after the officer, Kim Potter, resigned and was charged with second-degree manslaughter.
Chauvin, who is white, was seen in bystander video kneeling on the neck of Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man in handcuffs, for more than nine minutes after Floyd was accused of using a counterfeit $20 bill to buy cigarettes. The footage of Floyd’s death sparked global protests against the disproportionate use of force by police against Black people.
Prosecutors rested their case earlier this week, calling their last witness, Floyd’s brother Philonise, to the stand where he told the jury on Monday that his brother was a “big momma’s boy.”
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Over the first two weeks of the trial, the prosecution called eyewitnesses – from a 9-year-old girl to a 61-year-old man – who described their despair and horror as they watched the incident unfold.
They also called a series of police experts, including the Minneapolis police chief himself, and seven doctors with different medical specialties who told the jury it was Chauvin’s actions that killed Floyd, not a drug overdose, as the defence has contended.
Prosecutors also made the most of an abundance of video of the death, recorded from multiple angles on cellphones and police body-worn cameras.
On Tuesday, Chauvin’s defence began presenting their case by calling to the stand a now-retired officer who pulled over a car in which Floyd was a passenger in 2019 and told the jury that he was unresponsive and noncompliant during the incident.
His lawyers also called an expert on the use of force to tell the jury that Chauvin’s use of force was appropriate, contradicting the Minneapolis police chief, who testified that it far exceeded an appropriate response.
They also called a forensic pathologist, former Maryland chief medical examiner Dr. David Fowler, who said Floyd, whose death was ruled a homicide at the hands of the police, really died of heart disease, and that the exhaust fumes of the adjacent police car may have also poisoned him.
Dr. Martin Tobin, a pulmonologist who testified as an expert witness for prosecutors, returned to the stand on Thursday as a rebuttal witness in an effort to undermine Fowler’s testimony about carbon monoxide poisoning.
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Tobin was questioned by prosecutors for only a few minutes, telling jurors that previously shared data showed the level of carbon monoxide was “within the normal range.”
Prosecutors also said they had been contacted by Dr. Andrew Baker, the Hennepin County chief medical examiner who performed the autopsy on Floyd, to disclose previously unpublished test results that showed normal carbon monoxide levels in Floyd’s blood.
The judge said prosecutors had been notified by the defence earlier this year that Chauvin would advance a theory of carbon monoxide poisoning. And so he denied the request to admit the new evidence, saying it was too last-minute in a way that was prejudicial to Chauvin.
Cahill warned prosecutors that if Tobin even mentioned the existence of the results, he would declare a mistrial.
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Reuters
Reuters
Jonathan Allen
Publishing date:Apr 15, 2021 • 6 hours ago • 3 minute read • 6 Comments
This handout photo provided by the Hennepin County Jail shows a booking photo for former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin.
This handout photo provided by the Hennepin County Jail shows a booking photo for former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. PHOTO BY HENNEPIN COUNTY JAIL / HANDOUT /AFP via Getty Images / Files
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MINNEAPOLIS — Former Minneapolis policeman Derek Chauvin on Thursday waived his right to testify to the jury about his part in the deadly arrest last May of George Floyd as both sides rested their cases at his murder trial, the most high-profile police misconduct case in decades.
“I will invoke my Fifth Amendment privilege today,” Chauvin, 45, said in a hearing before the jury was brought in on Thursday morning after briefly removing his mask, referring to the constitutional right against self-incrimination. They were his most extensive remarks since his trial began with jury selection on March 8.
The defence told Hennepin County District Judge Peter Cahill it would call no more witnesses after two days of testimony and rested its case, which has focused on raising doubts about what caused Floyd’s death.
It is rare for defendants to take the stand in a criminal case because they face intense cross-examination by prosecutors and risk undermining their case and credibility.
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After a short appearance by a rebuttal witness, prosecutors from the Minnesota attorney general’s office also rested their case.
Cahill said jurors would hear closing arguments on Monday before receiving the case for deliberations. They will be sequestered at a hotel in a city whose downtown is filled with National Guard troops and boarded-up windows, preparing for potential unrest.
“If I were you, I would plan for long and hope for short,” Cahill told jurors on the question of how much to pack.
As the trial unfolded, tensions escalated across Minneapolis after a police officer in nearby Brooklyn Center shot and killed Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old Black man, during a traffic stop on Sunday. Hundreds of protesters massed outside Brooklyn Center police headquarters for a fourth night on Wednesday after the officer, Kim Potter, resigned and was charged with second-degree manslaughter.
Chauvin, who is white, was seen in bystander video kneeling on the neck of Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man in handcuffs, for more than nine minutes after Floyd was accused of using a counterfeit $20 bill to buy cigarettes. The footage of Floyd’s death sparked global protests against the disproportionate use of force by police against Black people.
Prosecutors rested their case earlier this week, calling their last witness, Floyd’s brother Philonise, to the stand where he told the jury on Monday that his brother was a “big momma’s boy.”
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Over the first two weeks of the trial, the prosecution called eyewitnesses – from a 9-year-old girl to a 61-year-old man – who described their despair and horror as they watched the incident unfold.
They also called a series of police experts, including the Minneapolis police chief himself, and seven doctors with different medical specialties who told the jury it was Chauvin’s actions that killed Floyd, not a drug overdose, as the defence has contended.
Prosecutors also made the most of an abundance of video of the death, recorded from multiple angles on cellphones and police body-worn cameras.
On Tuesday, Chauvin’s defence began presenting their case by calling to the stand a now-retired officer who pulled over a car in which Floyd was a passenger in 2019 and told the jury that he was unresponsive and noncompliant during the incident.
His lawyers also called an expert on the use of force to tell the jury that Chauvin’s use of force was appropriate, contradicting the Minneapolis police chief, who testified that it far exceeded an appropriate response.
They also called a forensic pathologist, former Maryland chief medical examiner Dr. David Fowler, who said Floyd, whose death was ruled a homicide at the hands of the police, really died of heart disease, and that the exhaust fumes of the adjacent police car may have also poisoned him.
Dr. Martin Tobin, a pulmonologist who testified as an expert witness for prosecutors, returned to the stand on Thursday as a rebuttal witness in an effort to undermine Fowler’s testimony about carbon monoxide poisoning.
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Tobin was questioned by prosecutors for only a few minutes, telling jurors that previously shared data showed the level of carbon monoxide was “within the normal range.”
Prosecutors also said they had been contacted by Dr. Andrew Baker, the Hennepin County chief medical examiner who performed the autopsy on Floyd, to disclose previously unpublished test results that showed normal carbon monoxide levels in Floyd’s blood.
The judge said prosecutors had been notified by the defence earlier this year that Chauvin would advance a theory of carbon monoxide poisoning. And so he denied the request to admit the new evidence, saying it was too last-minute in a way that was prejudicial to Chauvin.
Cahill warned prosecutors that if Tobin even mentioned the existence of the results, he would declare a mistrial.
Chauvin waives right to testify, rests case at murder trial for Floyd arrest
MINNEAPOLIS — Former Minneapolis policeman Derek Chauvin on Thursday waived his right to testify to the jury about his part in the deadly arrest last May of George …
'BELIEVE YOUR EYES': Prosecutors deliver closing argument at Derek Chauvin trial
Author of the article:Reuters
Reuters
Jonathan Allen
Publishing date:Apr 19, 2021 • 2 hours ago • 4 minute read • Join the conversation
Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, right, and his defence attorney Eric Nelson attend closing arguments during Chauvin's trial for second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the death of George Floyd with his defense attorney Eric Nelson in Minneapolis, Minn., April 19, 2021 in a still image from video.
Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, right, and his defence attorney Eric Nelson attend closing arguments during Chauvin's trial for second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the death of George Floyd with his defense attorney Eric Nelson in Minneapolis, Minn., April 19, 2021 in a still image from video. PHOTO BY POOL VIA REUTERS /Pool via REUTERS
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MINNEAPOLIS — A prosecutor told jurors to “believe your eyes” as he replayed video of George Floyd’s death last May beneath the knee of Derek Chauvin in closing arguments on Monday in the former police officer’s murder trial.
Chauvin’s lead lawyer, Eric Nelson, later countered that Chauvin behaved as any “reasonable police officer” would, arguing that he followed his training from 19 years on the force.
Over and over again, Steve Schleicher, a prosecutor with the Minnesota attorney general’s office, repeated a phrase: “Nine minutes and 29 seconds,” — the length of time Chauvin was captured on video on May 25, 2020, with his knee pressed into the dying Floyd’s neck.
Although the jury’s verdict will be seen as a reckoning in the way the United States polices Black people, Schleicher emphasized in remarks that lasted nearly two hours that the jury was weighing the guilt of only one man, not a system.
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“This wasn’t policing; this was murder,” Schleicher told jurors. He cited the motto of the Minneapolis Police Department, which fired Chauvin and three other officers after Floyd’s arrest: “To protect with courage and to serve with compassion.”
“Facing George Floyd that day that did not require one ounce of courage, and none was shown on that day,” Schleicher said, often speaking with audible anger and disgust. “All that was required was a little compassion and none was shown on that day.”
MORE ON THIS TOPIC
Minneapolis police Lieutenant Richard Zimmerman answers questions on the fifth day of the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin for second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minn., April 2, 2021 in a still image from video.
Senior officer says Chauvin used 'totally unnecessary' force on George Floyd
The former chief medical examiner of Maryland, Dr. David Fowler, answers questions during the thirteenth day of the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin for second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S. April 14, 2021 in a still image from video.
Prosecutors grill defence expert who said George Floyd died from heart disease, exhaust fumes
Philonise Floyd speaks about his brother as he answers questions during the eleventh day of the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin for second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minn., April 12, 2021 in a still image from video.
'A big momma's boy': Floyd's brother offers 'spark of life' testimony at Chauvin murder trial
Chauvin, who is white, pushed his knee into the neck of Floyd, a 46-year-old handcuffed Black man, for more than nine minutes outside the grocery store where he had been suspected of buying cigarettes with a fake $20 bill.
“He was trapped with the unyielding pavement beneath him, as unyielding as the men who held him down,” Schleicher said, before playing some of the extensive video of Floyd’s death, which he said showed Chauvin mocking Floyd’s struggle to breath.
UNATTRACTIVE FORCE
Chauvin has pleaded not guilty to second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree “depraved mind” murder and second-degree manslaughter.
His lead lawyer, Eric Nelson, said prosecutors were wrong to dismiss his theory that carbon monoxide poisoning from the nearby police car’s exhaust may have contributed to Floyd’s death.
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He repeated a single phrase scores of times, saying Chauvin behaved as a “reasonable police office” would in dealing with a man as “large” as Floyd, who was struggling against being put in a police car when Chauvin arrived, responding to a call for back-up.
Chauvin, dressed in a grey suit and dark blue shirt and tie, removed his face mask, worn as part of the coronavirus pandemic’s social-distancing requirements, and watched his lawyer defend him.
The extensive video footage of Floyd’s death from multiple angles is the heart of the prosecution’s case. Jurors have spent hours rewatching the videos in the courtroom.
“Believe your eyes,” Schleicher said. “This case is exactly what you thought when you saw it first, when you saw that video.” He said it shows Chauvin using unreasonable, and therefore illegal, force in compressing Floyd’s torso against the road, starving him of oxygen.
But Nelson used the same videos to try to prove the opposite point: The fact that Chauvin continued kneeling on Floyd even as he knew he was being filmed was evidence he believed he was responding to the scene in a reasonable way, Nelson said.
“In this case, the totality of the circumstances that were known to a reasonable police officer in the precise moment the force was used demonstrates that this was an authorized use of force, as unattractive as it may be,” Nelson said. “And this is reasonable doubt.”
National news networks carried live broadcasts of testimony after the first of more than 40 witnesses took the stand three weeks ago, though the coverage was sometimes interrupted by fresh episodes of police violence caught on camera.
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The closest instance occurred a few miles from the courthouse in downtown Minneapolis when a white police officer fatally shot a Black motorist, Daunte Wright, on April 11 in a traffic stop in the nearby suburb of Brooklyn Center.
As angry protests swelled, Minneapolis and state officials have ramped up security precautions. The tower in which the courtroom sits is ringed by barbed wire and armed soldiers from the National Guard.
For the second-degree murder charge, 12 jurors will have to agree that prosecutors proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Chauvin committed a felony, in this case assault, that was a substantial cause in Floyd’s death. They do not have to find that Chauvin intended to kill Floyd.
That crime carries a punishment of up to 40 years in prison, although sentencing guidelines call for a shorter sentence of up to 15 years for someone with no prior convictions.
The jury, along with two alternates, is comprised of six white women, two white men, three Black men, one Black woman and two multiracial women, according to court records. They will be sequestered in a hotel outside of deliberation hours.
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Reuters
Reuters
Jonathan Allen
Publishing date:Apr 19, 2021 • 2 hours ago • 4 minute read • Join the conversation
Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, right, and his defence attorney Eric Nelson attend closing arguments during Chauvin's trial for second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the death of George Floyd with his defense attorney Eric Nelson in Minneapolis, Minn., April 19, 2021 in a still image from video.
Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, right, and his defence attorney Eric Nelson attend closing arguments during Chauvin's trial for second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the death of George Floyd with his defense attorney Eric Nelson in Minneapolis, Minn., April 19, 2021 in a still image from video. PHOTO BY POOL VIA REUTERS /Pool via REUTERS
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MINNEAPOLIS — A prosecutor told jurors to “believe your eyes” as he replayed video of George Floyd’s death last May beneath the knee of Derek Chauvin in closing arguments on Monday in the former police officer’s murder trial.
Chauvin’s lead lawyer, Eric Nelson, later countered that Chauvin behaved as any “reasonable police officer” would, arguing that he followed his training from 19 years on the force.
Over and over again, Steve Schleicher, a prosecutor with the Minnesota attorney general’s office, repeated a phrase: “Nine minutes and 29 seconds,” — the length of time Chauvin was captured on video on May 25, 2020, with his knee pressed into the dying Floyd’s neck.
Although the jury’s verdict will be seen as a reckoning in the way the United States polices Black people, Schleicher emphasized in remarks that lasted nearly two hours that the jury was weighing the guilt of only one man, not a system.
Advertisement
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“This wasn’t policing; this was murder,” Schleicher told jurors. He cited the motto of the Minneapolis Police Department, which fired Chauvin and three other officers after Floyd’s arrest: “To protect with courage and to serve with compassion.”
“Facing George Floyd that day that did not require one ounce of courage, and none was shown on that day,” Schleicher said, often speaking with audible anger and disgust. “All that was required was a little compassion and none was shown on that day.”
Minneapolis police Lieutenant Richard Zimmerman answers questions on the fifth day of the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin for second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minn., April 2, 2021 in a still image from video.
Senior officer says Chauvin used 'totally unnecessary' force on George Floyd
The former chief medical examiner of Maryland, Dr. David Fowler, answers questions during the thirteenth day of the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin for second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S. April 14, 2021 in a still image from video.
Prosecutors grill defence expert who said George Floyd died from heart disease, exhaust fumes
Philonise Floyd speaks about his brother as he answers questions during the eleventh day of the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin for second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minn., April 12, 2021 in a still image from video.
'A big momma's boy': Floyd's brother offers 'spark of life' testimony at Chauvin murder trial
Chauvin, who is white, pushed his knee into the neck of Floyd, a 46-year-old handcuffed Black man, for more than nine minutes outside the grocery store where he had been suspected of buying cigarettes with a fake $20 bill.
“He was trapped with the unyielding pavement beneath him, as unyielding as the men who held him down,” Schleicher said, before playing some of the extensive video of Floyd’s death, which he said showed Chauvin mocking Floyd’s struggle to breath.
UNATTRACTIVE FORCE
Chauvin has pleaded not guilty to second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree “depraved mind” murder and second-degree manslaughter.
His lead lawyer, Eric Nelson, said prosecutors were wrong to dismiss his theory that carbon monoxide poisoning from the nearby police car’s exhaust may have contributed to Floyd’s death.
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He repeated a single phrase scores of times, saying Chauvin behaved as a “reasonable police office” would in dealing with a man as “large” as Floyd, who was struggling against being put in a police car when Chauvin arrived, responding to a call for back-up.
Chauvin, dressed in a grey suit and dark blue shirt and tie, removed his face mask, worn as part of the coronavirus pandemic’s social-distancing requirements, and watched his lawyer defend him.
The extensive video footage of Floyd’s death from multiple angles is the heart of the prosecution’s case. Jurors have spent hours rewatching the videos in the courtroom.
“Believe your eyes,” Schleicher said. “This case is exactly what you thought when you saw it first, when you saw that video.” He said it shows Chauvin using unreasonable, and therefore illegal, force in compressing Floyd’s torso against the road, starving him of oxygen.
But Nelson used the same videos to try to prove the opposite point: The fact that Chauvin continued kneeling on Floyd even as he knew he was being filmed was evidence he believed he was responding to the scene in a reasonable way, Nelson said.
“In this case, the totality of the circumstances that were known to a reasonable police officer in the precise moment the force was used demonstrates that this was an authorized use of force, as unattractive as it may be,” Nelson said. “And this is reasonable doubt.”
National news networks carried live broadcasts of testimony after the first of more than 40 witnesses took the stand three weeks ago, though the coverage was sometimes interrupted by fresh episodes of police violence caught on camera.
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The closest instance occurred a few miles from the courthouse in downtown Minneapolis when a white police officer fatally shot a Black motorist, Daunte Wright, on April 11 in a traffic stop in the nearby suburb of Brooklyn Center.
As angry protests swelled, Minneapolis and state officials have ramped up security precautions. The tower in which the courtroom sits is ringed by barbed wire and armed soldiers from the National Guard.
For the second-degree murder charge, 12 jurors will have to agree that prosecutors proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Chauvin committed a felony, in this case assault, that was a substantial cause in Floyd’s death. They do not have to find that Chauvin intended to kill Floyd.
That crime carries a punishment of up to 40 years in prison, although sentencing guidelines call for a shorter sentence of up to 15 years for someone with no prior convictions.
The jury, along with two alternates, is comprised of six white women, two white men, three Black men, one Black woman and two multiracial women, according to court records. They will be sequestered in a hotel outside of deliberation hours.
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BREAKING NEWS!!!!
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Seriously.. good riddance to Floyd. A criminal, didn't contribute to society.
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