The trial against former police officer Derek Chauvin, the main defendant in the death of George Floyd in May 2020, continues this week with key testimonies after two weeks with strong interventions by specialists, foreign evidence and emotional words from the victim’s family.
For this Monday the testimony of Philonise Floyd, brother of George Floyd; Dr. Jonathan Rich, a Chicago cardioologist; and Professor Seth Stoughton, an expert in the use of force.
The prosecution remains firm in its intention to prove and convince the jury that Derek Chauvin did cause Floyd’s death, so it hopes to conclude the round of testimony with the words of an expert who would demonstrate this argument with facts.
Chauvin, a former Minneapolis police officer, faces murder and second-degree murder charges. Floyd died on May 25 after Chauvin pressed his knee on Floyd’s neck for about nine minutes, while the detainee claimed he could not breathe and remained motionless while handcuffed.
His death sparked protests in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and across the country, while also sparking an outcry about police abuse.
TWO WEEKS OF TESTIMONIALS AND KEY EVIDENCES
During the first two weeks of the trial, the prosecution brought several witnesses and experts to the stand who defended the prosecution’s position that Chauvin used excessive force and caused Floyd’s death.
Lt. Richard Zimmerman, director of the Minneapolis Police Department’s homicide division, said that pressing George Floyd’s neck with his knee while he was handcuffed and face down was a “deadly force of the highest order” and something “completely unnecessary.” .
Dr. Andrew Baker, the chief medical examiner who ruled George Floyd’s death a homicide, said the way the police held him and compressed his neck “was more than Floyd could bear” given the condition of your heart.
Sgt Jody Stiger told the Minneapolis, Minnesota court on Wednesday.
Baker said Floyd had serious underlying heart disease and an enlarged heart that needed more oxygen than normal to function, as well as a narrowing of two heart arteries.
The prosecution has also presented dozens of images and videos recorded by witnesses that showed the outcome of Floyd’s arrest that on May 25, 2020 ended in his death.
In one of the videos Floyd was seen lying on the ground and handcuffed, while complaining of pain, calling his mother and repeating over and over again: “I can’t breathe!” and “I can’t take it anymore.”
The images belong to the cameras of two of the officers who participated in the controversial arrest in Minneapolis, Minnesota.