On Wednesday, Day 8 of the Derek Chauvin murder trial, defense attorney Eric Nelson continued attempts to blame George Floyd for compelling former Minneapolis police officer Chauvin to apply excessive use of force to restrain Floyd as he executed an arrest. Prosecutors and defense attorneys methodically questioned police officials and law enforcement experts regarding their experiences with suspects under arrest. Chavin’s defense attorney honed in on a suspect resorting to false claims of a medical condition to resist arrest by any means necessary, including an individual claiming an inabilty to breathe.
However, the defense’s tactic is not working any better today, than on Tuesday, Day 7 when expert after expert testified that Chauvin’s use of force was not only unwarranted, the knee on the neck is not authorized use of force in the Minneapolis Police jurisdiction and is outlawed by police agencies across the country … in short Chauvin was improvising.
The Defense also proposed on Tuesday, Day 7 of the trial that what is perceived in photos of video footage of Chauvin casually continuing to apply deadly force as he rocked back and forth on Floyd’s neck – hand in pocket – may be more a case of him being distracted by a group of bystanders pleading and yelling at Chauvin and other officers to render aid.
In a bold twist today though, Chauvin’s Defense attorney Eric Nelson played a segment of inaudible video in which George Floyd is imploring officers to give him some relief asking the witness “Doesn’t that sound like he is saying ‘I used too many drugs.’” The LAPD law enforcement expert responded, “that he could not hear” what Floyd uttered.
Three Minneapolis police department officers took the stand Tuesday on the seventh day of testimony in Derek Chauvin’s murder trial in the death of George Floyd. In addition to the officers, who are experts in use of force, crisis intervention training and emergency medical response, was Sgt. Jody Stiger of the Los Angeles Police Department. He testified as an outside expert on police training and use of force.
Chauvin, who is white, is charged with second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the death of Floyd, a Black man who died in police custody on May 25, 2020.
All witnesses to this point in the trial have confirmed that Chauvin’s use of force was excessive, unwarranted and potentially fatal.
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