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The Guardian
Prosecutors accuse Derek Chauvin of killing George Floyd as trial begins
Jerry Blackwell told jury the ex-officer used excessive and unreasonable force ‘without regard for Floyd’s life’ Derek Chauvin trial begins – live updates Defense lawyer Eric Nelson sits next to Derek Chauvin in Minneapolis, Minnesota on March 29. Photograph: Jane Rosenberg / Reuters Prosecutors have accused former policeman Derek Chauvin of killing a helpless George Floyd by “crushing and crushing him until the very breath, very life, is rooted out of him », At the opening Monday of a murder trial considered by millions as a litmus test of the responsibility of the American police force. Prosecutor Jerry Blackwell told the jury that Floyd’s death last May, which revived the Black Lives Matter movement and sparked months of protests across America and around the world, was caused by Chauvin keeping his knee on the neck of the dying. man for more than nine minutes even after stopping breathing. “What Mr. Chauvin was doing he was doing on purpose,” Blackwell said as he presented his case to the jury in the courtroom in Minneapolis, the city where Floyd was killed. The prosecutor said Chauvin used excessive and unreasonable force “without regard for Floyd’s life”. Blackwell said it was “an assault” that resulted in the death of the victim. Chauvin, 45, has denied charges of second and third degree murder, and manslaughter, for the death of the 46-year-old African-American man who was suspected of attempting to buy cigarettes with a fake 20 dollar bill last May. The former officer, who has been fired, faces up to 40 years in prison if convicted of the most serious charges. Chauvin’s attorney, Eric Nelson, told the jury in their opening statement that the evidence will show Floyd was under the influence of drugs and that the force used against him was reasonable because of his behavior. Outside the walled courthouse, Floyd family attorney Benjamin Crump said the trial was a test of American justice and said the world was watching. “Today begins a historic trial which will be a referendum on the road traveled by America in its quest for equality and justice for all,” he declared. A group of protesters held signs reading “Minneapolis will never forget George Floyd” and “Mr. George Floyd is not judged, Derek Chauvin is ”. Blackwell showed the jury a nine-minute, 29-second video of Chauvin kneeling on Floyd’s neck, the footage that shocked millions of Americans last year and sparked the massive racial justice protests that swept across the States- United and beyond. “You can believe your eyes, it was homicide, it was murder,” he told the jury, some of whom had never seen the video before. In the recording, Floyd can be heard saying 20 times that he couldn’t breathe and 10 times that he was dying. He repeatedly called his deceased mother. Blackwell said that the dying man can also hear “Tell my children that I love them” and “I will probably die this way.” I have finished, I have finished. They will kill me. Blackwell said Floyd hadn’t been breathing since the last minute Chauvin was kneeling on his neck. The prosecutor said the officer not only breached his legal obligation to help Floyd, but also prevented anyone from helping him, including a firefighter trained in first aid. Blackwell said that even when Chauvin was told by a paramedic that Floyd was out of a pulse, the officer kept his knee in place. “You will see that he does not let go. He doesn’t get up. Even when Mr. Floyd doesn’t even have a pulse, it continues, ”he said. He said the jury will hear testimony from a police officer who arrived at the scene while Floyd was being held, who will say that at that time the force used by Chauvin was not needed. The prosecutor also said that Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo, who sacked Chauvin shortly after Floyd’s death, will testify that the former officer’s conduct was “not in line” with the training or to Minneapolis Police Department protocol. “He’ll tell you it’s excessive force,” Blackwell said. The prosecutor said Floyd’s arrest was not necessary in the first place because adopting a counterfeit bill, even intentionally, is a misdemeanor for which the police could have drafted a ticket. Nelson said in his opening statement that he will show his client’s behavior was reasonable in the circumstances because Floyd was under the influence of drugs at the time of his arrest. He said witnesses said Floyd took opioid pills shortly before his detention and sometimes “passed out”. “The evidence will show that when confronted with the police, Mr. Floyd put drugs in his mouth in order to hide them from the police,” he said. Nelson testified that Floyd took an opioid and methamphetamine “speedball”, and as a result he was violently fighting an arrest that required the use of force. “Derek Chauvin did exactly what he was trained to do in his 19 year career,” he said. The outcome of the trial may well be focused on the cause of death. Nelson said medical evidence would show the presence of drugs as well as other medical problems, including coronary artery disease and an enlarged heart, which were the cause of death. He said there was no medical evidence of suffocation. The official autopsy and an independent autopsy at the time concluded that the main cause of death was homicide. Blackwell said: “It wasn’t a heart attack.” The first prosecution witness was a 911 dispatcher, Jena Scurry, who told a police supervisor that she feared the police would be “sitting on this man” in a live feed from a street camera. . Blackwell said of Scurry’s testimony that “she called the police on the police.”
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