The defense of the ex-police officer accused of George Floyd’s death argued in favor of the agent Tuesday and called an expert on the use of force to testify who justified Derek Chauvin pressing Floyd to the floor, and claimed that things They could have turned out better if the black man had “rested comfortably” on the pavement.
Barry Brodd, a former Santa Rosa, California police officer, strongly defended Chauvin’s actions in the murder trial, even when a prosecutor questioned him harshly and expressed disbelief at the use of the phrase “rest comfortably.”
“It’s easy to sit back and judge the conduct of an officer,” Brodd said. “It is more of a challenge to put oneself in the place of the agents to try to make an assessment based on what they feel, what they perceive, the fear they have, and then make a decision.”
He said he did not believe that Chauvin and the other officers used lethal force when they held Floyd face down, with his hands cuffed behind his back and Chauvin’s knee on the neck or neck area for what the prosecution described as 9 minutes and a half.
Several prominent Minneapolis police officers, including the police chief, have stated that Chauvin used excessive force and failed to complete his training. And medical experts called in by the prosecution have said that Floyd died from lack of oxygen because of his depletion.
The question of what force is reasonable is important: police officers are authorized to some extent to use deadly force when someone endangers the officer or others. A key question of the trial, according to legal experts, will be determining whether Chauvin’s actions were reasonable in that particular case.
Sgt Jody Stiger told the Minneapolis, Minnesota court on Wednesday.
Brodd also appeared to defend what prosecution witnesses have described as a widespread misconception: the idea that if someone can speak, they can breathe.
Chauvin, a 45-year-old white man, is charged with murder and manslaughter in Floyd’s death last May, following his arrest on suspicion of smuggling a $ 20 bill at a neighborhood market.
Chauvin’s attorney, Eric Nelson, has said Floyd died due to his illegal drug use and underlying medical problems, not because Chauvin put a knee on his neck.
Moments after the prosecution concluded their presentation, after 11 days of testimony and a mountain of video evidence, the defense called their first witness, a retired Minneapolis police officer who testified about a May 6, 2019 incident at the that Floyd was arrested.