By highlighting the emotional trauma Mr. Floyd’s arrest brought about witnesses, prosecutors seemingly hoped to persuade jurors that Mr. Chauvin’s actions had been clearly extreme to individuals who noticed them in actual time. One witness, Darnella Frazier, now 18, testified that she has been haunted by what she noticed, generally mendacity awake at evening “apologizing to George Floyd for not doing extra and never bodily interacting and never saving his life.”
The fateful arrest was replayed from each angle.
For the primary time, the ultimate moments earlier than Mr. Floyd’s arrest had been proven intimately. Surveillance video from Cup Meals, together with testimony from the shop clerk, confirmed Mr. Floyd strolling across the retailer, chatting and laughing with prospects, and ultimately shopping for a pack of cigarettes with a $20 invoice that the clerk suspected was faux.
Footage from police physique cameras then replayed the arrest from starting to finish. It confirmed an officer method Mr. Floyd together with his pistol drawn, and captured audio of Mr. Floyd’s fearful response: “Please, don’t shoot me,” he stated. Mr. Floyd appeared terrified, first of the pistol, then of being held in a police automotive.
As Mr. Chauvin pinned him to the bottom, the footage captured the moments when the officers checked for a pulse and located none, however took no motion.
A tactic that was referred to as ‘lethal pressure.’
On Friday, Lt. Richard Zimmerman, the longest-serving officer within the Minneapolis Police Division, supplied scathing condemnation of Mr. Chauvin’s use of pressure. He stated Mr. Chauvin violated police coverage and referred to as his actions “completely pointless.” Placing a knee on somebody’s neck whereas they’re handcuffed in a inclined place, he stated, qualifies as “lethal pressure.”
“In case your knee is on an individual’s neck, that may kill them,” Lieutenant Zimmerman stated, including that people who find themselves handcuffed usually pose little risk to officers. Mr. Zimmerman’s testimony, bolstered by his greater than 35 years on the pressure, may very well be a serious setback for an important facet of Mr. Chauvin’s protection — that his actions weren’t solely authorized, however inside the bounds of his coaching.
