REWIND TO HIS FATAL ARREST
Chauvin trial begins with Floyd video
The murder trial of former Minneapolis cop Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd began on Monday amid heavy security in a barricaded and fortified courthouse, with prosecutors focusing on video of the deadly arrest.
Minnesota state prosecutors showed jurors the now widely seen footage of Floyd’s May 25 death during opening statements in Hennepin County District Court in Minneapolis, and accused Chauvin of using “excessive and unreasonable force.”
“Nine, twenty, nine — the three most important numbers in this case,” prosecutor Jerry Blackwell told the panel, referring to the 9 minutes and 29 seconds that Chauvin knelt on Floyd’s neck.
“That’s how long that went on. For half of that time, Mr. Floyd was unconscious, breathless and pulseless.”
“You can believe your eyes that it’s a homicide, it’s a murder.”
Chauvin, 45, appearing in court in a gray suit, tie and surgical face mask, showed no emotion as the video played, periodically jotting down notes on a yellow notepad.
Floyd’s family watched the proceedings via livestream from an overflow room. One relative was present in the courtroom.
The case will also hinge on medical evidence and testimony, with Chauvin’s lawyer Eric Nelson arguing that drugs ingested by Floyd, as well as a pre-existing heart condition, not cops, caused his death.
But state prosecutors contend it was Chauvin’s knee, pressed into Floyd’s neck for 9 minutes, 29 second — not the previously reported 8 minutes, 46 seconds — that killed the 46-year-old black man.
“You will learn that on May 25, 2020, that Mr. Derek Chauvin betrayed this badge when he used excessive and unreasonable force upon the body of Mr. George Floyd,” Blackwell said, “that he put his knees upon his neck and his back, grinding and crushing him until the very breath — no, ladies and gentlemen — until the very life was squeezed out of him.”
“He died one breath at a time over an extended period of time,” Blackwell said. “This was not an instant death.”
Prosecutors unveiled new video of Floyd’s death, taken from a traffic camera across the street.
The state’s first witness, 911 dispatcher Jena Lee Scurry, said she watched the footage live from headquarters and became so concerned over the cops’ actions that she called her sergeant for advice. Scurry said Chauvin and two other officers had Floyd pinned so long that she “asked if the screen had broken” on her monitor.
But Nelson, in opening statements, argued that Floyd’s substance use and poor health were to blame for his death — as well as two pills he allegedly popped in his mouth when cops approached his vehicle.
“The evidence will show that when confronted by police, Mr. Floyd put drugs in his mouth in an effort to conceal them from police,” he said.
Nelson said Floyd also struggled with cops, noting, “Three Minneapolis police officers could not overcome the strength of Mr. Floyd . . . This was not an easy struggle.”
He added that police and emergency responders were distracted from helping Floyd after he stopped moving because an unruly crowd began to gather.
“There is no political or social cause in this courtroom,” Nelson said. “But the evidence is far greater than 9 minutes and 29 seconds in this case. You will learn that the evidence has been collected broadly and expansively.”
Minnesota Assistant Attorney General Matthew Frank, the lead prosecutor in the case, also called to the stand a 23-year-old worker at a store across from the scene and a 33-year-old martial-arts aficionado who repeatedly pleaded with cops to let Floyd get up.
In a decision ahead of opening statements, Hennepin County District Judge Peter Cahill ruled that defense attorneys could say Floyd “appeared to not be complying” but could not say he was resisting.
Chauvin is charged with thirddegree murder, second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. He faces up to 40 years in prison on the second-degree murder charge.
All 15 jurors selected over the past three weeks appeared in court Monday morning. Cahill dismissed one — a white man in his 20s who was the last one picked Tuesday.
There are now 12 jurors — two white men, four white women, three black men, one black woman and two women who identify as multiracial. The two others will serve as alternates.