Floyd death case against ex-cop goes to the jury

Minneapolis, April 20: The murder case against former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd has gone to the jury. Twelve jurors — six of them white, six Black or multiracial — are beginning deliberations in a city on edge against another round of unrest.

During closing arguments Monday, prosecutors contended that Chauvin squeezed the life out of Floyd by pinning his knee against Floyd's neck last May, ignoring bystanders, his own training and common sense.

The defence argued that the now-fired white officer acted reasonably and that the 46-year-old Black man died of an underlying heart condition and illegal drug use.

Officer Derek Chauvin ''had to know'' he was squeezing the life out of George Floyd as the Black man cried over and over that he couldn't breathe and finally fell silent, a prosecutor told the jury Monday during closing arguments at Chauvin's murder trial.

''Use your common sense. Believe your eyes. What you saw, you saw,'' Steve Schleicher said, referring to the excruciating bystander video of Floyd pinned to the pavement with Chauvin's knee on or close to his neck last May for up to 9 minutes, 29 seconds, as bystanders yelled at the white officer to get off.

Chauvin attorney Eric Nelson countered by arguing that Chauvin did what any ''reasonable'' police officer would have done after finding himself in a ''dynamic'' and ''fluid'' situation involving a large man struggling with three officers.

As Nelson began speaking, the now-fired Chauvin removed his Covid-19 mask in front of the jury for one of the very few times during the trial.

The dueling arguments got underway with Minneapolis on edge after Floyd's death last spring set off protests in the city and across the United States that at times turned violent.

The defence contends not only that Chauvin acted reasonably but that the 46-year-old Floyd died of heart disease and illegal drug use, not Chauvin's actions.

Prosecutor Jerry Blackwell had the final word, offering the state's rebuttal argument.

The prosecutor, who is PoC, said that the questions about the use of force and cause of death are ''so simple that a child can understand it.''

''In fact, a child did understand it, when the 9year-old girl said, 'Get off of him,''' Blackwell said, referring to a young witness who objected to what she saw. “That's how simple it was. 'Get off of him.' Common sense.''

Under the law, police are given certain latitude to use force, and their actions are supposed to be judged according to what a ''reasonable officer'' in the same situation would have done — a point the defence stressed repeatedly. Nelson noted that officers who first went to the corner store where Floyd allegedly tried to pass a counterfeit $20 bill already were struggling with Floyd when Chauvin arrived as backup.

The attorney also noted that the first two officers on the scene were rookies and that police had been told that Floyd might be on drugs.

''A reasonable police officer understands the intensity of the struggle,'' Nelson said, saying that Chauvin's body-worn camera and his police badge were knocked off his chest.