Derek Chauvin trial: Witnesses questioned by lawyers
Chauvin, who has pleaded not guilty, is facing multiple murder charges.
The trial for Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer charged in the death of George Floyd, began Monday in Minneapolis.
He faces charges of manslaughter, second-degree murder and third-degree murder.
The trial is expected to last four weeks.
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3rd witness, who told Chauvin to stop kneeling on Floyd, testifies
Donald Williams, the professional mixed martial arts fighter who can be heard in a witness video criticizing Minneapolis police officers during their encounter with Floyd, was called by the prosecution as its third witness Monday.
Williams was walking around the corner from the Cup Foods when he heard a commotion and saw Floyd on the ground with Chauvin kneeling over him, he testified.
Floyd "was speaking in a distressed way" when Williams got there, vocalizing to the officers that he was in pain and that he wanted his mom, Williams said.
"His breathing was getting tremendously heavy," Williams said, adding that it was apparent that he was struggling to gasp for air.
At one point, Floyd's eyes then "slowly rolled to the back of his head" and his nose started bleeding, and soon after he was "lifeless," Williams said.
Williams said his experience as a fighter led him to believe that Chauvin's position on Floyd's neck was putting Floyd in imminent danger.
Another witness on the scene who is a paramedic told the officers multiple times to check Floyd's pulse, but no one did, Williams said.
Prosecution calls 2nd witness, employee of store across the street from Cup Foods
Alisha Oyler, a shift manager for the Speedway located across the street from Cup Foods, first noticed police officers “messing with someone” when she began watching the encounter involving Floyd, she told prosecutors Monday.
Oyler took seven separate video recordings on her cellphone but could not immediately recall details, stating that it had "been so long."
Defense tries to establish that 911 dispatcher was not an expert on use of force policies
During a cross-examination, defense attorney Eric Nelson walked 911 dispatcher Jena Scurry through the timeline of the encounter and pressed her on her knowledge of Minneapolis Police use of force policies.
Nelson seemed to want the jury to know that Scurry was not familiar with how police handled such incidents.
Scurry acknowledged that she has only seen police incidents play out live on monitors in the dispatch center three to four times in the seven years she has been a dispatcher.
ABC News’ Whitney Lloyd contributed to this report.
"Mr. Chauvin betrayed his badge," prosecutor says
Derek Chauvin failed the responsibilities that come with the badge he was given by the Minneapolis Police Department when he pressed his knee on George Floyd’s neck and killed him, prosecutor Jerry Blackwell said in opening statements Monday.
Part of the oath Minneapolis police officers take is to enforce the law "courteously and appropriately," while “never employing unnecessary force,” Blackwell said, adding that Chauvin violated both when he engaged in the "grinding and crushing" of Floyd "until the very life was squeezed out of him."
"Mr. Chauvin betrayed his badge," Blackwell said.
Floyd was unarmed, in handcuffs and did not present a threat to anyone, Blackwell said.
"He was completely in the control of the police," Blackwell said. “He was defenseless.”
Blackwell vowed to give Chauvin a fair trial, but stated that he was "anything but innocent" on May 25, 2020 -- the day that Floyd died.
The prosecution plans to prove that Chauvin engaged in "force that he applied without the regard for its impact," Blackwell said.
