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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    The evidence goes beyond the video, defense says

    Eric Nelson, Chauvin’s defense attorney, emphasized during his opening statement that the evidence for the case is "far greater than 9 minutes and 29 seconds."

    The evidence has been collected "broadly and expansively" and includes several police experts and at least 200 civilian witnesses, Nelson said.

    Nelson will spend the trial talking about "reason and common sense and how that applies to the evidence," Nelson said.


    The store clerk at Cup Foods who accused Floyd of making a purchase with a fake $20 bill will be among those who testify, Nelson said.

    Attorneys will also question one of Floyd’s friends who was in the Mercedes-Benz after he left the store. The friend previously stated that Floyd consumed what she believed to be two Percocet pills before police arrived. Floyd then fell asleep, Nelson said.

    When officers arrived, Floyd put drugs in his mouth in an effort to conceal them from police, Nelson said.


    3 witnesses "called the police on the police" during Floyd encounter, prosecutor says

    Three people who witnessed Chauvin kneeling on Floyd’s neck called 911 on the officers who were at the scene, Blackwell said.

    A first responder, who was distressed that the officers were not checking Floyd’s pulse or performing chest compressions on him, called the police, Blackwell said.


    Another man, who Blackwell described as a "very focal” bystander with a background in security and mixed martial arts, also called the police.

    The third person was a 911 dispatcher who could see the encounter through a fixed police camera on the scene.

    The incident was "so unusual, and for her, so disturbing," that she called a sergeant at the police department to alert him to what was happening, Blackwell said.


    Chauvin watches intently as prosecutor plays witness video

    Blackwell played a portion of the 9 minute and 29 second video taken by a witness on May 25, 2020.

    "For half of that time, Mr. Floyd was unconscious, breathless and pulseless," Blackwell said.

    Blackwell said Floyd can be seen repeatedly heaving his right shoulder into the air. This move was an attempt by Floyd to expand his ribcage so he could breathe, as he was "pancaked" between the hard pavement beneath him and Chauvin on top of him, Blackwell said.

    Chauvin watched intently as the video was played in the courtroom.


    "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.


    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.