Defence begins case in Chauvin murder trial
Lawyers seize on 2019 confrontation
THE DEFENCE has begun its case at the murder trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who is accused over the death of George Floyd.
Chauvin’s lawyers seized on a 2019 confrontation between police and Mr Floyd in which the 46-year-old suffered dangerously high blood pressure and confessed to heavy use of opioid painkillers.
Lawyer Eric Nelson has argued that the now-fired white officer did what he was trained to do and that Mr Floyd died last May because of his illegal drug use and underlying health conditions, not because of Chauvin pinning him to the pavement.
Moments after the prosecution rested its case yesterday after 11 days of testimony and a mountain of video evidence, the defence put on its first witness.
Retired Minneapolis police officer Scott Creighton gave evidence about a May 6, 2019 incident in which Mr Floyd was arrested, a year before his fatal encounter with Chauvin.
Mr Creighton said he drew his gun when Mr Floyd, who was a passenger in the car, did not comply with orders to show his hands.
Mr Nelson played bodycamera video that showed Mr Creighton approaching the vehicle on the passenger side, drawing his gun and pulling him out of the car.
Another witness who responded to that call, retired paramedic Michelle Moseng, said that Mr Floyd told her he had been taking multiple opioids about every 20 minutes.
Ms Moseng also said she recommended taking Mr Floyd to hospital based on his high blood pressure, which she measured at 216 over 160, but he resisted.
Under cross-examination by prosecutor Erin Eldridge, Ms Moseng said that Mr Floyd’s respiratory output, pulse, heart rate, EKG and heart rhythms were normal.
Judge Peter Cahill cautioned jurors that the evidence from the earlier stop was only for the limited purpose of showing the effects that ingesting opioids might have had on Mr Floyd – and that they were not to use it to judge Mr Floyd’s character.
Mr Nelson has not said whether Chauvin will give evidence.