the shocking video the George Floyd murder trial began with

The case against the former police officer accused of killing George Floyd, a case that has shocked United States, was marked on Monday by the transmission to the jury of a shocking video showing the agony of the 46 year old African American.

“Nine minutes and 29 seconds. That’s how long it lasted, ”said Attorney Jerry Blackwell, of how long the Minneapolis cop Derek chauvin He put his knee on Floyd’s neck.

The jury could hear Floyd, handcuffed and pressed to the sidewalk, panting for suffocation while passers-by asked the officer to relax his maneuver.

Chauvin, dressed in a gray suit and blue tie, was at the defense table as the video played, sometimes taking notes on a yellow notepad.

With 19 years in the police force, Chauvin is accused of murder and wrongful death and face up 40 years in prison if convicted of the most serious charge: second degree murder.

Video of Floyd’s death, recorded and streamed live on social media by a passer-by, sparked anti-racist protests and riots over police abuses against African Americans in the United States and even other countries.

President Joe Biden “certainly will closely monitor, just like Americans across the country, ”said spokesperson Jen Psaki, referring to the“ wound ”this affair has left in the country.

Blackwell said in his opening argument that the 45-year-old former agent did not follow police procedures and acted insensitive continuing to press Floyd’s still body to the ground.

“On May 25, 2020, Mr. Derek Chauvin he betrayed his police badge when he used excessive and irrational force on Mr. George Floyd’s body, ”Blackwell said.

“He put his knees on her neck and on her back, crushing and crushing her, until his breath – no, ladies and gentlemen, until his life – was snatched from him,” said he continued.

Chauvin’s trial has become the center of attention of the movement Black lives matter (Black lives matter) and a test on the exercise of justice in the police arena.

“The whole world is watching,” said Ben Crump, civil rights attorney and attorney for the Floyd family, before the opening speech.

“Today begins a historic judgment that it will be a referendum on how far the United States has come in its quest for equality and justice for all, ”said Crump.

The lawyer and members of the Floyd family they knelt during the time that Chauvin was seen in the video with his knee on Floyd’s neck.

Blackwell has made it clear that he does not intend to try all of the officers, but only Chauvin, who was fired from the Minneapolis Police Department after the incident.

“This case concerns Mr. Derek Chauvin,” he said.

“We will ask that he be convicted of second degree murder, third degree murder and wrongful death,” he said.

The cause of Floyd’s death is expected to be the central issue in the case, and a key piece of evidence is likely the video the jury saw.

Crump said Chauvin’s defense attorney “will try to assassinate the character of George Floyd.”

“But this is the trial of Derek Chauvin, let’s look at his record,” he said. “The facts are simple. What killed George Floyd was excessive force overdose“.

Floyd died while being held by Chauvin for the alleged use of a fake $ 20 bill.

Chauvin’s attorney, Eric Nelson, told the jury that Floyd was under the influence of drugs at the time of his arrest and had resisted his arrest.

“Derek Chauvin did exactly what he was trained to do,” said Nelson.

He urged the jury to ignore the politics and social movements surrounding the case.

“There is no political or social cause in this room,” he added.

Chauvin’s trial takes place in a heavily guarded Minneapolis courtroom. The process should take approx. a month.

The 14-member jury is racially mixed: six white women, three black men, two white men, two mixed-race women and one black woman.

Their ages range from 20 to 60 years old and they include a chemist, a social worker, an accountant and a nurse. Two are immigrants to the United States.

One is a grandmother, another just married, and another is a single mother of two teenagers.

The police men they are rarely sentenced in the United States and sentencing for one of the charges against Chauvin will require the jury to render a verdict unanimous.

Nelson asked that the trial be delayed and moved out of Minneapolis due to the March 12 announcement that the city government had reached a “wrongful death” settlement for $ 27 million with the Floyd family, but Judge Peter Cahill dismissed the allegations.

Three other former police officers – Tou Thao, Thomas Lane and J. Alexander Kueng – also face charges related to Floyd’s death. They will be judged separately throughout the year.

Source: AFP

DD