THE third week of testimonies in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin will continue today.
The 45-year-old has been charged with second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the death of George Floyd.
Floyd died last May following an arrest during which Chauvin placed a knee on his neck for 9 minutes, 29 seconds while Floyd pleaded, “I can’t breathe.”
Caught on video, those tragic final moments led to widespread protests and riots across the US against police brutality and racism.
Chauvin, along with three other police officers present during the fatal arrest, was fired from the Minneapolis Police Department the day after the death.
Almost 40 witnesses have been called to the stand in recent weeks, including the Minneapolis police chief and other officers who have openly condemned Chauvin’s actions.
The defence for Derek Chauvin yesterday called upon a use-of-force expert, who testified that the former police officer was justified in pinning Floyd to the ground.
Taking the stand, Barry Brodd, a former Santa Rosa police officer, stoutly defended Chauvin’s actions, NBC Connecticut reported.
“It’s easy to sit and judge … an officer’s conduct,” Brodd testified. “It’s more of a challenge to, again, put yourself in the officer’s shoes to try to make an evaluation through what they’re feeling, what they’re sensing, the fear they have, and then make a determination.”
Brodd said it might have gone easier if the Black man had been “resting comfortably” on the pavement.
Read our Derek Chauvin trial live blog for the latest on George Floyd’s killing…
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EXPERT WITNESS: DRUGS AND ADRENALINE CAN EXACERBATE HEART DISEASE
Retired forensic pathologist David Fowler told the defense on Wednesday that Floyd had an enlarged heart – which required more oxygen – and narrowed arteries – which reduced blood supply.
Attributing Floyd’s purported enlarged heart to hypertensive cardiovascular disease, Fowler said Floyd’s abnormal heart and narrow arteries likely increased his risk of sudden death.
Fowler said that arrhythmias can result when the heart’s blood supply needs are not met.
Methamphetamines, which were found in Floyd’s system, also leaves the heart more susceptible to arrhythmia, increases the heart rate and causes blood vessels to narrow, Fowler said.
Furthermore, physical exertion increases the heart’s demand for oxygenated blood, Fowler said.
“The more the individual is stressed, both physical and in other ways, the more the demand on the heart is going to increase.
“There’s a potential of the adrenaline and methamphetamine further narrowing those arteries in the heart, as well as arteries elsewhere in the body, restricting blood flow,” Fowler said.”
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EXPERT WITNESS: FLOYD HAD ‘SUDDEN CARDIAC ARRHYTHMIA’
Retired forensic pathologist David Fowler testified for the defense on Wednesday that he believes George Floyd died from a sudden cardiac arrhythmia due to underlying health conditions.
“So in my opinion, Mr. Floyd had a sudden cardiac arrhythmia or cardiac arrhythmia due to his atherosclerotic and hypertensive heart disease … during his restraint and subdual by the police,” Fowler, a former chief medical examiner at the Maryland Department of Health, said.
“And his significant contributory conditions would be, since I’ve already put the heart disease in part one, he would have the toxicology, the fentanyl and methamphetamine.
“There is exposure to a vehicle exhaust, so potentially carbon monoxide poisoning or at least an effect from increased carbon monoxide in his bloodstream. And paraganglioma, or the other natural disease process that he had. So, all of those combined to cause Mr. Floyd’s death.”
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DAY 13 OF TESTIMONY BEGINS WITH FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST WHO PREVIOUSLY HELP ACQUIT COPS IN BLACK MAN’S DEATH
The thirteenth day of testimony in the trial of former Minneapolis cop Derek Chauvin has begun.
The first witness called to the stand is Dr. David Fowler, a retired forensic pathologist who previously worked at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for the state of Maryland.
In 2019, Fowler helped exonerate local police in death of Anton Black, 19, a black aspiring model, by ruling his restraint death to be ‘accidental’.
Black died in September 2018 after a foot chase, a struggle and under the restraint by three officers and one bystander while prone on the ground.
The teenager was pinned down for six minutes while the officers worked to secure him in handcuffs and eventually leg shackles, pushing his legs up towards his lower back.
Bodycam footage also showed a heavy-set officer was laying length-wise on Black’s back, who was 5-foot-9-inch, and weighed 159-lb.
In his review of the case, Fowler write that Black’s death was “likely the stress of his struggle” with the officers as well as a pair of rare underlying congenital heart conditions.
Fowler wrote that “no evidence was found that restraint by law enforcement directly caused or significantly caused or significantly contributed” to Black’s death. He added “in particular no evidence was found that restraint led to the decedent being asphyxiated.”
For Chauvin’s defense, Fowler said h’es being compensated for his time on the case at a rate of $350 per hour.
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FRIEND WHO WAS IN THE CAR WITH FLOYD WILL NOT TESTIFY
Judge Peter Cahill ruled on Monday morning that Morries Lester Hall, who was in the car with Floyd shortly before he died on May 25, 2020, will not testify in the case.
During a hearing held this morning, Hall invoked the Fifth Amendment so as not to incriminate himself in the case.
Asked by the judge as to whether he’d be willing to answer questions pre-submitted to the court under oath, Hall said: ‘No I am not [because] I’m fearful of criminal charges’.
Before Hall spoke, his attorney addressed the court arguing how Hall could expose himself to criminal charges if he took the stand in the Chauvin trial.
Judge Cahill said that he found that Hall has ‘a complete fifth amendment privilege here; and ruled to quash a subpoena by the defense for Hall’s testimony.
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JUDGE DENIES MOTION TO ACQUIT CHAUVIN
Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill rejected a routine defense motion to acquit former Minneapolis cop Derek Chauvin on Wednesday.
Chauvin’s attorney, Eric Nelson, attempted to argue that prosecutors had not proven their case and asked Cahill to end the trial by finding his client not guilty.
“The state has essentially introduced, doubt, in the context of providing multiple opinions from multiple experts, all of which seem to contradict each other. And for that reason we would ask the state to, or excuse me, ask the court to grant the Motion for Judgment of acquittal,” Nelson request of the judge.
However, the state pushed back against the motion, insisting: “There’s no question that the witnesses who have testified all opined that the defendant use of force was subjectively unreasonable.
” He was not trained to do this by the Minneapolis Police Department. He did not follow policy. He did not follow a procedure, and the force that he exercised was unnecessary under the circumstances.”
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WHO IS MORRIES LESTER HALL?
Morries Lester Hall was in the car with George Floyd when he was arrested on Memorial Day, 2020, and later died under the knee of Officer Derek Chauvin.
Hall, 42, has pleaded the Fifth Amendment and has refused to testify in Floyd’s on-going trial for both the prosecution and defense.
His decision came at the end of the third day in Chauvin’s trial where jurors saw previously unseen bodycam footage from the cops involved in the incident.
Although Hall has initially agreed to be a key witness in the case, he turned his decision around, saying:
“I’m a key witness to the cops murdering George Floyd, and they want to know my side. Whatever I’ve been through, it’s all over with now. It’s not about me.”
He also previously said, “I walk with Floyd. I know that I’m going to be his voice.”
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HOW LONG IS CHAUVIN FACING IN PRISON, IF CONVICTED?
Officer Derek Chauvin has been charged with second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter.
Each of the charges are considered to be separate, meaning the 45-year-old could be convicted of all of them, some of them, or none of them.
The second-degree murder charge carries a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison; the third-degree murder charge 25 years; and second-degree manslaughter 10 years,
This means if Chauvin is indeed found guilty of all counts, he could receive a prison sentence of up to 75 years.
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CHAUVIN TRIAL: DAY 13
The defense will resume its case for a second day on Wednesday during the murder trial of former Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd.
Chauvin’s attorney, Eric Nelson, has remained tight-lipped on who is set to testify, but the witnesses will likely further the wide themes of the case to absolve the ex-cop.
Chauvin, 45, has been charged with second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter charges. He has pleaded not guilty to all three counts.
So far in the case, Nelson’s main arguments have been focused on three things:
- Chauvin’s use of force was justified, however brutal it appeared
- George Floyd died of drug and health problems, not the actions of Chauvin
- The crowd of onlookers watching the arrest were hostile and distracted Chauvin from properly taking care of Floyd
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WHAT DID FLOYD’S AUTOPSY RESULTS SHOW?
George Floyd‘s cause of death was classified as a homicide by a medical examiner who ran an independent autopsy on June 1, 2020.
He said his heart stopped while police restrained him and compressed his neck for almost nine minutes.
The cause of death was listed as “cardiopulmonary arrest complicating law enforcement subdual, restraint and neck compression,” according to the official information from the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office.
It determined: “[Floyd] experienced a cardiopulmonary arrest while being restrained by law enforcement officer(s).”
The office also listed heart disease and hypertension under Floyd’s “other significant conditions”.
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NEW FOCUS PUT ON USE-OF-FORCE TRAINING
As the murder trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin continues, a spotlight is being put on law enforcement training.
Chauvin’s defense attorney, Eric Nelson, opened the trial by telling jurors that the neck restraint he used on Floyd was “exactly what he had been trained to do over the course of his 19-year career,” ABC news reported.
However, a number of law enforcement officials from Chauvin’s former department seemed to disagree.
Retired Minneapolis Police Department Sgt. David Pleoger — Chauvin’s supervisor at the time of Floyd’s death — testified that “when Mr. Floyd was no longer offering up any resistance to the officers, they could have ended their restraint.”
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PROTESTORS CLASH FOR THIRD NIGHT
Demonstrators protesting the fatal shooting of Daunte Wright gathered outside the police station in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, on Tuesday – the third consecutive night of demonstrations.
Wright, who was shot by a police officer who said she mistook her gun for a taser, was killed just a few miles from where George Floyd died last May.
Protests during the day were mainly peaceful, but, according to local reports, chaos erupted after dark.
Officers used pepper spray and fired flash bombs at protesters, while water bottles and other objects were thrown at officers in riot gear.
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FAMILY OF GEORGE FLOYD VOWS TO FIGHT ALONGSIDE DAUNTE WRIGHT’S FAMILY
Philonise Floyd, the younger brother of George, has said he couldn’t help but to be there for the family of Daunte Wright.
Wright was shot in Brooklyn Centre, Minnesota, on Sunday; an area already on edge amid the trial of a police officer in Floyd’s death, ABC 7 news reported.
Officer Kim Potter, who has since resigned, is said to have mistakenly grabbed her gun when she was going for her Taser.
Drawing a comparison between Wright’s case and his brother’s, Philonise said they were “both killed over misdemeanors”.
“My brother was tortured to death and the officer claims for Daunte … they thought they were tasing him. There was no need to tase him.”
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WHEN WILL IT END?
The witness testimony ix expected to continue until April 16.
The prosecution has already called more than 20 witnesses with defense witnesses still to give testimony.
Chauvin faces charges of unintentional second-degree murder, third-degree murder and manslaughter.
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EX-COP SAYS CHAUVIN JUSTIFIED IN PINNING FLOYD TO THE GROUND
The defence for Derek Chauvin has called upon a use-of-force expert, who testified that the former police officer was justified in pinning Floyd to the ground.
Taking the stand on Tuesday, Barry Brodd, a former Santa Rosa police officer, stoutly defended Chauvin’s actions, NBC Connecticut reported.
“It’s easy to sit and judge … an officer’s conduct,” Brodd testified. “It’s more of a challenge to, again, put yourself in the officer’s shoes to try to make an evaluation through what they’re feeling, what they’re sensing, the fear they have, and then make a determination.”
Brodd said it might have gone easier if the Black man had been “resting comfortably” on the pavement.
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NO AIR
Tobin told the jurors that Floyd died “from a low level of oxygen” that was caused by “shallow breathing.”
“He was taking shallow breaths that weren’t able to carry the air through his lungs, down to the essential areas in the lungs,” Tobin added.
He said that this shallow breathing was caused by four forces on his body.
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WILL DEREK CHAUVIN TESTIFY?
As the defense for Chauvin began on Tuesday, one question continues to loom over the proceedings: will the former Minneapolis police officer testify to explain his actions?
Defense attorney Joe Tamburino, who is not affiliated with the trial, told CBS that Chauvin is the only person the defense can use to make key points in its case.
“That jury is going to want to hear [Chauvin] say that he didn’t want to hurt Mr. Floyd, that he was just using regular procedures and moves that he’s been trained to do,” Tamburino said. “You have to humanize the defendant if you’re going to try to win….That’s really the only way to do it.”
However, taking the stand would also pose a number of risks for Chauvin, including opening himself up to cross-examination.
“He just might not come across well [to the jury],” Tamburino said of another potential downside.
In court, Chauvin has shown little emotion or character.
While there is no word yet on whether he plans to take the stand, should he choose to do so, he could even take the stand as soon as tomorrow.
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WHAT HAPPENED IN WEEK 2 OF THE TRIAL?
In week two of Chauvin’s trial, Minneapolis police chief Madaria Arradondo testified saying the former cop “absolutely” failed to follow department use-of-force, de-escalation and duty to render air policies.
“I absolutely agree that violates our policy,” Chief Arrandondo said when asked about Chauvin’s tactics by the prosecutor.
“That is not part of our policy; that is not what we teach,” he added.
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EX-COP: DRUG USE CAN AFFECT USE-OF-FORCE REQUIREMENTS
Former police officer and use-of-force expert Barry Brodd was asked by Chauvin’s attorney, Eric Nelson, whether substance use can affect or influence a use-of-force requirement.
“It has quite a large impact, in my opinion,” Brodd said, adding that somebody under the use of drugs might not “be hearing” what officers are telling them.
“They may have erratic behavior. They don’t feel pain,” he continued. “They may have superhuman strength. They may have an ability to go from compliant to extreme non-compliance in a heartbeat.”
Brodd also contested that keeping an arrestee like Floyd in a prone position might be “safer” because they can’t run off or injure themselves.
He further claimed it may prevent an arrestee from choking on their own vomit, should they be intoxicated.
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MINNEAPOLIS COP WHO TESTIFIED FOR PROSECUTION IS RECALLED BY DEFENSE
Officer Nicole MacKenzie, Minneapolis PD’s medical support trainer, testified that one of the officers at the scene, Thomas Lane, had been given training in how to detect “excited delirium” syndrome in a suspect.
MacKenzie was previously called by the prosecution earlier in the trial.
Under cross-examination, MacKenzie said that one of the things officers are told to do during training is roll suspects onto their sides, because excited delirium can hinder one’s ability to breathe.
Asked by the prosecution if an officer would deter to an “emergency room doctor” on whether someone was suffering the syndrome, she said: “Absolutely. Not our place to diagnose that.”
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ATTORNEY REPRESENTS COPS IN FLOYD AND WRIGHT CASES
Attorney Earl Gray is representing both former officer Kim Potter and Thomas Lane.
Ex-cop Lane was one of four officers involved in Floyd’s arrest and he will stand trial later this year.
Potter resigned on Tuesday over Wright’s death and is expected to be charged on Wednesday.
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FLOYD LAWYER COMPARES CASE TO DAUNTE WRIGHT
Floyd family lawyer Ben Crump claimed on Tuesday that he and Daunte Wright should have been written citations for misdemeanors rather than dying on police custody.
Wright, was shot on Sunday by a police officer who said she mistook her gun for a taser, was killed just a few miles from where George Floyd died last May.
“Daunte was trying to get away, he was not a threat to (police),” Crump said.
“Was it the best decision? No. But young people don’t always make the best decisions. As his mother said, he was scared.”
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PROTESTORS CLASH FOR THIRD NIGHT
Demonstrators protesting the fatal shooting of Daunte Wright gathered outside the police station in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, on Tuesday – the third consecutive night of demonstrations.
Wright, who was shot by a police officer who said she mistook her gun for a taser, was killed just a few miles from where George Floyd died last May.
Protests during the day were mainly peaceful, but, according to local reports, chaos erupted after dark.
Officers used pepper spray and fired flash bombs at protesters, while water bottles and other objects were thrown at officers in riot gear.
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CITIES SET CURFEWS
For the second night in a row, the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul set overnight curfews.
Law enforcement officials said they were anticipating a third night of protests following the death of Daunte Wright, 20, who was shot by police during a traffic stop on Sunday.
In cities still reeling from the death of George Floyd last summer, officials said they would be restricting movement from 10 p.m. until 6 a.m.
On Monday night, dozens of protestors defied a curfew that had been set at 7 p.m., leading to a number of arrests and confrontations with police.
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WILL DEREK CHAUVIN TESTIFY?
As the defense for Chauvin began on Tuesday, one question continues to loom over the proceedings: will the former Minneapolis police officer testify to explain his actions?
Defense attorney Joe Tamburino, who is not affiliated with the trial, told CBS that Chauvin is the only person the defense can use to make key points in its case.
“That jury is going to want to hear [Chauvin] say that he didn’t want to hurt Mr. Floyd, that he was just using regular procedures and moves that he’s been trained to do,” Tamburino said. “You have to humanize the defendant if you’re going to try to win….That’s really the only way to do it.”
However, taking the stand would also pose a number of risks for Chauvin, including opening himself up to cross-examination.
“He just might not come across well [to the jury],” Tamburino said of another potential downside.
In court, Chauvin has shown little emotion or character.
While there is no word yet on whether he plans to take the stand, should he choose to do so, he could even take the stand as soon as tomorrow.
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COURT HAS ADJOURNED
The testimony of Barry Brodd, which took up the majority of Tuesday afternoon’s proceedings, has come to close.
Judge Peter Cahill has sent jurors home for the day.
The trail will continue tomorrow, and is expect to last until at least April 16.