George Floyd’s girlfriend says she battled opioid addiction in Derek Chauvin trial

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Courteney Batya Ross, 45, said she met Floyd in August 2017 while working as a security guard in the Salvation Army. In a moving testimony, she said they enjoyed exploring the local sculpture garden and eating together on their dates.

Floyd enjoyed working out every day, lifting weights, doing sit-ups and pull-ups, and he never complained of shortness of breath. He was also a mum’s boy who was a “shell of himself” after his mother’s death in 2018, and she described the well-known photo of him as a “daddy’s selfie”.
They were also both addicted to opioids. Like many Americans, they were prescribed opioid pain relievers to treat chronic pain, which ultimately led to addiction and their use of street drugs, she testified.

In March 2020, she found Floyd doubled in pain and took him to the emergency room, she testified. He remained in the hospital for several days due to an overdose, she said. She said she thought he started using again in May 2020.

George Floyd's girlfriend Courteney Batya Ross said she struggled with opioid addiction during their relationship.

In their opening statements, prosecutors acknowledged Floyd’s history of opioid addiction, but said it was irrelevant to the reason for his death last May. However, defense attorney Eric Nelson argued that Floyd’s real cause of death was drug use and several pre-existing health conditions.

Floyd’s personal descriptions arrived on day four of testimony in Chauvin’s criminal trial. His girlfriend’s account represents a radical departure from the heartbreaking body camera footage of the four former Minneapolis cops who arrested Floyd last May and which were played out on Wednesday.

The first days of trial testimony largely focused on the spectators’ who watched and recorded in horror as Chauvin knelt impassively on Floyd’s neck for 9 minutes and 29 seconds. Many of them, including the cashier at the convenience store whose interaction with Floyd brought the police to the scene, expressed a sense of guilt for what they did or did not do.
On Wednesday afternoon, prosecutors first released body camera footage of police officers to jurors. The searing, close-up outlook shows Floyd panting that he’s claustrophobic, saying he can’t breathe and calling for his mother until he is silent.
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Derek Chauvin's body camera video shows his reaction just after George Floyd leaves in an ambulance

A clip from Chauvin’s own body camera showed him defending his actions in front of a critical viewer just moments after Floyd’s limp body left the stage in an ambulance.

“That’s one person’s opinion,” Chauvin replied, getting into his patrol car. “We had to control this guy because he’s a pretty important guy.

This comment was the first time jurors or the public have heard Chauvin – and it may be the last. His lawyer has not indicated whether he will testify in his own defense.

While much of the body camera video has already been made public, its raw power has remained clear. Charles McMillian, a 61-year-old witness, broke down in tears on the stand after watching part of it, resulting in a short break in the trial.

“I feel helpless,” he said through tears. “I don’t have a mom either. I understand that.”

Chauvin, 45, has pleaded not guilty to second degree murder, third degree murder and second degree manslaughter.

Friend Floyd says he will plead the 5th

Charles McMillian, left, had a short chat with former officer Derek Chauvin moments after George Floyd was taken in an ambulance.

A man who was sitting in a car with Floyd when police approached and removed them from the vehicle says he will not testify at trial.

Morries Hall will invoke the Fifth Amendment and will not testify if called to the stand, according to a case submitted by his public defender Adrienne Cousins. Hall is on prosecutors’ list of potential witnesses and is now asking the court to dismiss his subpoena because he will not testify.

Witnesses in Derek Chauvin's trial describe guilt and sadness after George Floyd's death

On Wednesday, jurors watched video of Floyd, Hall and another passenger being abducted by police from the Mercedes SUV they were sitting in across from Cup Foods.

A witness who worked at Cup Foods described Floyd and Hall each trying to use a $ 20 bill he identified as a fake.

Hall fled Minnesota shortly after Floyd’s death, according to his August 2020 statement to investigators cited in court documents. He was ultimately arrested in Texas on outstanding felony warrants issued by Minnesota prior to Floyd’s death, including one for being a felon in possession of a gun.

Hall is also accused of trying to get rid of the evidence on the day Floyd died.

“Surveillance video from the nearby Dragon Wok restaurant shows that Mr. Hall appeared to use Mr. Floyd’s resistance as a distraction to destroy evidence,” says a court document filed by the defense.

“The video shows Mr. Hall looked through the windows of Mr. Floyd’s vehicle to make sure he was not being observed by the police, then … Mr. Hall stealthily dropped something in the sewer drain from the street. “

Judge Peter Cahill has yet to rule on Hall’s request to be released as a witness.

His public defender did not immediately return a CNN call.

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