Good morning, readers, and welcome to our live coverage of the Derek Chauvin trial. Trials against Chauvin continue this morning at 9:00 a.m. CT in Minneapolis, and the trial enters its ninth day of testimony.
Chauvin, a former Minneapolis police department officer, faces charges of second-degree manslaughter, third-degree murder and second-degree homicide, after George Floyd died during an arrest last May.
Chauvin, who is white, pressed his knee against Floyd’s neck, which is black, for more than nine minutes during the fatal encounter. He has not pleaded guilty to the charges.
So far, the trial has been divided into several key issues. Prosecutors have conducted numerous interrogations on witnesses, including Chauvin’s former comrades and police chief, on the proper use of force.
They are trying to establish that Chauvin’s behavior ignored departmental guidelines and was a blatantly excessive use of force, which led to Floyd’s death.
Chauvin’s defense, through his interrogation of witnesses, has attempted to distinguish concrete concepts about the use of force, effectively arguing that excessive force in a situation may be adequate and reasonable in a number.
Remember: his lawyer, Eric Nelson, has basically stated through questioning that the crowd that formed around Floyd’s arrest could have posed a threat to Chauvin and his local colleagues, which would move the metrics to fit it).
Chauvin’s defense also tries to argue that Floyd’s drug use caused his death, not his knee against his neck as he called for help and finally stopped breathing.
Here are several key points from Wednesday’s proceedings:
- Sergeant Jody Stiger, whom prosecutors called an expert on the use of force, said Chauvin’s use of force “it was not objectively reasonable. “
- Stiger, to whom the defense tried to say a crowd could pose a risk, stood firm, saying:As time went on in the video, it was clear that you could see Mr. Floyd’s doctor … his health was deteriorating. His breathing was slowing down. His tone of voice was getting lower and lower. His movements were beginning to cease. So right now, as a stage officer, you have a responsibility to realize that “it’s okay, something’s wrong.” Something has changed drastically compared to what happened before, so you have a responsibility to take some kind of action. ”
- Both the Mercedes Floyd SUV was in place before his arrest, as was the car of the police squadron. they underwent a second forensic examination. Although pills were recorded in photographs of these vehicles during the first forensic examination on May 27, they were not recorded or subjected to chemical analysis until December 2020 and early 2021, respectively. Nelson has insisted on suggesting that the researchers made a significant mistake in losing this, to sow doubts about the research more generally.
- The witness revealed that both pills contained methamphetamine and fentanyl.
- Susan Neith, a Pennsylvania-based forensic chemist who also analyzed the pills, said methamphetamine levels found some of these samples to be low, between 1.9% and 2.9%. Neith said he often comes across methamphetamine pills on the street that contain between 90% and 100% methamphetamine. Therefore, a testimony pointing to relatively low methamphetamine levels may undermine the argument of Nelson’s drug overdose.
That’s all right now. Please check again soon for incomplete reports and analysis.