Testimony of firefighters and teenagers who filmed the fatal arrest of George Floyd

Prosecutors continued to lay out their case against Derek Chauvin, the fired Minneapolis officer accused of the death of George Floyd on Tuesday. Chauvin, who was seen in a disturbing video kneeling on the neck of the unarmed black man, is charged with second degree murder, third degree murder and second degree manslaughter. He pleaded not guilty.

On Tuesday afternoon, Minneapolis firefighter Genevieve Hansen, who was overheard on video repeatedly asking officers to take Floyd’s pulse, said she was “desperate” to help the man. But she said officers would not allow her to provide medical assistance, leaving her feeling frustrated, helpless and “totally distressed.”

“There is a man being killed, and if I had had access to a call like this I could have provided medical care to the best of my ability, and this human saw himself deny that right, ”said Hansen, who is also an emergency medical technician.

Earlier today, the teenager who filmed the much-watched cell phone video of the incident spoke. His testimony was only broadcast via audio due to his age. The teenager, Darnella Frazier, became emotional when she described seeing Floyd “suffer” and beg for his life.

“It was definitely a cry for help,” she said.

Another teenage witness who also videotaped the encounter said she could see Floyd ‘struggling to breathe’ and ‘time was running out, or he had already done so’.

Earlier, the jury heard from a spectator trained in mixed martial arts who repeatedly shouted for Chauvin to relieve the pressure on Floyd’s neck. Donald Williams II ended his testimony after a tense exchange with defense lawyer Eric Nelson, who called Williams’ comments to Chauvin “angry.”

FloydMay’s murder sparked outrage and worldwide recognition police reform and racial justice. Three other officers involved in the fatal arrest are accused of complicity and will be tried jointly in August.

A key point of contention in opening statements Monday was how Floyd died. Prosecutors played the video of Floyd being pinned down, saying Chauvin used lethal force on a “defenseless” Floyd and handcuffed him for nine minutes and 29 seconds. Prosecutor Jerry Blackwell said Floyd died of oxygen deprivation under pressure from Chauvin’s knee. But the defense argued that Floyd died of a cardiac arrhythmia complicated by the fentanyl and methamphetamine he ingested before his arrest.