VET COP PANS KNEE ON NECK
Minn. detective sez Chauvin’s restraint was ‘uncalled for’
It was “totally unnecessary” for Minneapolis cop Derek Chauvin to put his knee on George Floyd’s neck, the city’s top homicide cop testified Friday on the fifth day of testimony in Chauvin’s murder trial.
“If your knee is on a person’s neck, that can kill them,” Lt. Richard Zimmerman told the jury, describing the tactic as a “top-tier, deadly” use of force.
“Putting your knee on the neck for that amount of time is just uncalled for,” Zimmerman said. “I saw no reason why the officers felt they were in danger, if that’s what they felt. That’s what they would have to feel to use that kind of force.”
Zimmerman — who said he is the longest-serving officer in the Minneapolis department — also seemed to question why the officers didn’t provide any medical care to Floyd before an ambulance arrived. When a suspect is handcuffed, he said, “they are your responsibility.”
Zimmerman, who joined the Minneapolis police in 1985, said he’s never been trained to kneel on a suspect’s neck while the person is handcuffed and in a prone position — as Chauvin did he pinned Floyd face-down on the pavement for more than nine minutes on May 25.
Floyd was arrested after a convenience store worker called 911 because he suspected Floyd had passed him a fake $20 bill.
Zimmerman said the threat level is “way down” when a suspect is handcuffed behind their back and lying on the ground, as was the case with Floyd.
For that reason, the veteran cop said, “you need to get them out of the prone position as soon as possible because it restricts their breathing.”
Zimmerman said he watched footage of the Memorial Day arrest and thought Chauvin and the other cops at the scene should “absolutely” have stopped using force once Floyd was restrained and on the ground.
His testimony is part of the prosecution’s effort to show Chauvin acted unlawfully when he held Floyd down on the pavement. Chauvin is charged with murder and manslaughter in the caughton-video incident that shocked the country and sparked nationwide protests against police brutality and systemic racism.
Under cross examination, defense attorney Eric Nelson questioned Zimmerman’s experience dealing with use of force, noting that his assignments are investigative in nature and that he does not wear a police uniform.
Nelson also suggested that when cops are in “a fight” for their lives, they “are allowed to use whatever force is reasonable and necessary, and that can even involve improvisation.”
The veteran detective said he agreed with Nelson’s assertion. But under re-direct examination, he later told prosecutor Matthew Frank he did not see any need for Chauvin to improvise when dealing with Floyd.
More Minneapolis cops are expected to take the witness stand next week, including police chief Medaria Arradondo, who fired Chauvin.
Arradondo, who has publicly denounced the actions of the officers involved in Floyd’s death, is expected to reveal what Chauvin
told him about the fatal arrest and whether he believed his use of force was justified.
Zimmerman’s testimony on Friday supported statements by another police witness.
Chauvin’s supervising sergeant, David Pleoger, told the jury Thursday there was no reason for Chauvin to remain on top of Floyd after the 46-year-old father of five was already restrained.
“When Mr. Floyd was no longer offering up any resistance to the officers, they could have ended the restraint,” Pleoger said.
Two paramedics who responded to the scene that day testified this week that they saw no signs Floyd was moving or breathing when they showed up. One of them, Derek Smith, said he believed Floyd was already dead when the ambulance arrived. Their testimony came after Floyd’s girlfriend, Courteney Ross, described their threeyear relationship and constant battle with opioid addiction.
Prosecutors have acknowledged that Floyd was under the influence at the time of his death, but they claim his struggle with addiction did not cause his death or justify Chauvin’s actions. The defense, meanwhile, argues that his death was partly caused by illegal drugs and an underlying heart condition and that Chauvin did what he was trained to do.