Defense rests; no Chauvin testimony
MINNEAPOLIS – The defense at the murder trial of former Officer Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd rested its case Thursday without putting Chauvin on the stand, presenting a total of two days of testimony to the prosecution’s two weeks.
Closing arguments were set to begin Monday morning, after which the jury will get the case.
Before the jury was brought into the courtroom, Chauvin, his COVID-19 mask removed in a rare courtroom moment, informed the judge that he would not testify, saying he would invoke his Fifth Amendment right not to take the stand.
It would have been the first time Chauvin publicly told his side of the story.
“Is this your decision not to testify?” Judge Peter Cahill asked.
“It is, your honor,” Chauvin said.
The prosecution briefly recalled a lung and critical care expert to knock down a defense witness’s theory that carbon monoxide poisoning from a squad car’s exhaust might have contributed to Floyd’s death. The defense witness, Dr. David Fowler, said Wednesday that the fentanyl and methamphetamine in Floyd’s system, and possibly carbon monoxide poisoning, were contributing factors in the 46-year-old Black man’s death last May.
Dr. Martin Tobin noted hospital tests that showed Floyd’s level of the deadly gas was at most 2%, within the normal range.
And with that, both sides finished presenting their cases.
After closing arguments, the racially diverse jury will begin deliberating at the courthouse, which has had rings of barbed wire added. Minneapolis has been wary of a repeat of the protests and violence that broke out last spring over Floyd’s death.
Cahill reminded the jurors they would be sequestered starting Monday, and said: “If I were you, I would plan for long and hope for short.”
The question of whether Chauvin would testify was the subject of weeks of speculation.
The risks were high: Testifying could have opened him up to devastating cross-examination, with prosecutors replaying the video of the arrest and forcing Chauvin to explain, one frame at a time, why he kept his kness pressed on Floyd’s neck.
But having him take the stand also could have given the jury the opportunity to see or hear any remorse or sympathy he might feel. He would have been able to remove the mask he has had to wear at the defense table.
Chauvin, 45, is charged with murder and manslaughter in Floyd’s death after his arrest on suspicion of passing a counterfeit $20 at a neighborhood market.
Defense attorney Eric Nelson has argued that the 19-year Minneapolis police veteran did what he was trained to do and that Floyd died because of his illegal drug use and underlying health problems.
Prosecutors say Floyd died because the white officer’s knee was pressed against Floyd’s neck or neck area for 91⁄2 minutes as he lay face-down on the pavement, his hands cuffed behind him.