MINNEAPOLIS — The trial of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer charged with killing George Floyd, is continuing Tuesday. Click here to stream the trial live.
Prosecutors’ case against Chauvin drew toward a close Monday with tender memories from Floyd’s younger brother, along with another look at the harrowing video and testimony from a use-of-force expert who said no “reasonable” officer would have done what Chauvin did.
Seth Stoughton, a professor at the University of South Carolina School of Law, judged Chauvin’s actions against what a reasonable police officer in the same situation would have done, and repeatedly found that Chauvin did not meet the test.
“No reasonable officer would have believed that that was an appropriate, acceptable or reasonable use of force,” Stoughton said of the way Floyd was held facedown with a knee across his neck for up to 9 minutes, 29 seconds.
There was chilling and graphic testimony last week in the trial. Pulmonologist, Dr. Martin Tobin, took the stand Thursday, to describe how he believed Chauvin’s knee made it impossible for Floyd to breathe.
Tobin walked jurors through the mechanics of what he said happened, testifying that Chauvin’s knee was on Floyd’s neck for 90% of the interaction, even after he stopped breathing.
Chauvin had his knee on Floyd’s neck area -- and was bearing down with most of his weight -- the entire 9 1/2 minutes the Floyd lay facedown with his hands cuffed behind his back, a use-of-force expert testified Wednesday at Chauvin’s murder trial.
Jody Stiger, a Los Angeles Police Department sergeant serving as a prosecution witness, said that based on his review of video evidence, Chauvin applied pressure to Floyd’s neck or neck area from the time officers began pinning Floyd to the ground until paramedics began to move him to a stretcher.
“That particular force did not change during the entire restraint period?” prosecutor Steve Schleicher asked as he showed the jury a composite of five still images.
“Correct,” replied Stiger, who on Tuesday testified that the force used against Floyd was excessive.
Minneapolis police are taught to restrain combative suspects with a knee on their back or shoulders if necessary but are told to “stay away from the neck when possible,” department use-of-force instructor Lt. Johnny Mercil testified Tuesday.
Mercil took the stand as part of an effort by prosecutors to dismantle the argument that Chauvin was doing what he was trained to do when he put his knee on Floyd’s neck last May.
Several experienced officers, including the police chief himself, have testified that Floyd should not have been kept pinned to the pavement for close to 9 1/2 minutes by prosecutors’ reckoning as the Black man lay face-down, his hands cuffed behind his back.
Minneapolis police Chief Medaria Arradondo said Monday that Derek Chauvin’s decision to restrain Floyd with a knee to his neck for more than nine minutes “absolutely” violated department policy.
“Based on my viewing of the videos, once Mr. Floyd had stopped resisting -- and certainly once he was in distress and trying to verbalize that -- (the restraint) should have stopped,” Arradondo testified.
Arradondo’s testimony came on the sixth day of the trial against Chauvin, 45, who is charged with murder and manslaughter in the May 25 death of Floyd. Chauvin, who is white, is accused of pinning his knee on the 46-year-old Black man’s neck for 9 minutes, 29 seconds as Floyd lay face-down in handcuffs outside of a corner market.
Prosecutors have already called supervisory officers to build the case that Chauvin improperly restrained Floyd. A duty sergeant and a lieutenant who leads the homicide division both questioned Chauvin’s actions in pinning Floyd after officers responded to a report that Floyd had passed a counterfeit $20 bill.
“Totally unnecessary,” Lt. Richard Zimmerman, the longest-tenured officer on the force, testified Friday. He said once Floyd was handcuffed, he saw “no reason for why the officers felt they were in danger, if that’s what they felt, and that’s what they would have to feel to be able to use that kind of force.”
In emotional testimony Thursday during the trial, Courteney Ross recalled her three-year relationship with George Floyd and acknowledged that the couple struggled with opioid addiction.
“Floyd and I, our story, it’s a classic story of how many people get addicted to opioids,” Ross said. “We both suffered from chronic pain. Mine was in my neck, and his was in his back. We both (had) prescriptions, but after … we got addicted and tried really hard to break that addiction many times.”
Minneapolis police body camera footage played in court on Wednesday showed George Floyd pleading with officers as they attempted to put him in a squad car on May 25, 2020, minutes before his death.
Charles McMillian, 61, told jurors that he watched as policed detained Floyd and that he urged the 46-year-old to cooperate with police.
A Minneapolis firefighter who wept as she recalled being prevented from using her EMT training to help Floyd also took the stand for the second time on Wednesday.
Genevieve Hansen, one of several bystanders seen and heard shouting at Chauvin as he pinned Floyd facedown outside a convenience store last May, described her desperation Tuesday as she recounted how she was unable to come to Floyd’s aid or tell police what to do, such as administering chest compressions.
On the first day of the trial, prosecutors showed the jury video of Chauvin pressing his knee on the Black man’s neck for several minutes as onlookers yelled at him repeatedly to get off and Floyd gasped that he couldn’t breathe.
In opening statements, prosecutor Jerry Blackwell told the jury that the number to remember was 9 minutes, 29 seconds -- the amount of time Chauvin had Floyd pinned to the pavement with his knee last May.
Day 9 Police secure a scene after arresting protesters broke curfew by marching through Manhattan Wednesday, June 3, 2020, in New York, during a solidarity rally calling for justice over the death of George Floyd. Floyd died after being restrained by Minneapolis police officers on May 25. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E) (Wong Maye-E/AP)
Day 9 A member of the National Guard and the Alamo are seen behind a newly erected protective fence in San Antonio, Wednesday, June 3, 2020. The grounds are being protected with the fence and a curfew as a precautionary measure to minimize the possibility of civil disturbance and damage to sensitive structures as protests have broken out over the death of George Floyd. Demonstrators took to the streets across the United States again Wednesday to protest the death of Floyd, a black man who was killed in police custody in Minneapolis on May 25. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) (Eric Gay/AP)
Day 9 Demonstrators gather to protest the death of George Floyd, Wednesday, June 3, 2020, near the White House in Washington. Floyd died after being restrained by Minneapolis police officers. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) (Alex Brandon/AP)
Day 9 A man walks on a sidewalk lined with shuttered shops Wednesday, June 3, 2020, in downtown Los Angeles, as protests continue over the death of George Floyd on May 25 in Minneapolis. Los Angeles County pushed back the start of its curfew from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., a help to newly reopened restaurants and retail stores that were shut down for weeks by anti-coronavirus orders. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong) (Jae C. Hong/AP)
Day 9 Protesters gather during a demonstration in Parliament Square in London on Wednesday, June 3, 2020, over the death of George Floyd, a black man who died after being restrained by Minneapolis police officers on May 25. Protests have taken place across America and internationally, after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee against Floyd's neck while the handcuffed black man called out that he couldn't breathe. The officer, Derek Chauvin, has been fired and charged with murder. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham) (Matt Dunham/AP)
Day 9 Demonstrators protest the death of George Floyd as they gather Wednesday, June 3, 2020, on the East side of the U.S. Capitol in Washington. Floyd died after being restrained by Minneapolis police officers.(AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) (Jacquelyn Martin/AP)
Day 9 Police arrest protesters for breaking an imposed curfew by marching through Manhattan Wednesday, June 3, 2020, in New York, during a solidarity rally calling for justice over the death of George Floyd. Floyd died after being restrained by Minneapolis police officers on May 25. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E) (Wong Maye-E/AP)
Day 9 Members of the District of Columbia Army National Guard stand guard at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, Wednesday, June 3, 2020, securing the area as protests continue following the death of George Floyd, a who died after being restrained by Minneapolis police officers. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) (Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP)
Day 9 Hundreds of demonstrators lie face down depicting George Floyd during his detention by police during a protest against police brutality, on Boston Common, on Wednesday, June 3, 2020. Demonstrators took to the streets around the United States again Wednesday to protest the death of George Floyd, a black man who was killed in police custody in Minneapolis on May 25. (AP Photo/Steven Senne) (Steven Senne/AP)
Day 9 Demonstrators take part in a protest over the death of George Floyd who died May 25 after he was restrained by Minneapolis police, Wednesday, June 3, 2020, in downtown Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu) (Ringo H.W. Chiu/AP)
Day 9 Demonstrators are seen reflected in the glasses of a law enforcement personnel, as they gather to protest the death of George Floyd, Wednesday, June 3, 2020, near the White House in Washington. Floyd died after being restrained by Minneapolis police officers. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) (Evan Vucci/AP)
Day 9 Police arrest protesters as they march through the streets of Manhattan, New York, Wednesday, June 3, 2020. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio says that the city has taken a "step forward" in restoring order with the help of an early curfew. Tuesday night brought more big protests over the death of George Floyd and sporadic reports of vandalism, but much less of the widespread plundering of stores amid a huge police presence. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) (Seth Wenig/AP)
Day 9 A protester is arrested for violating curfew near the Plaza Hotel on Wednesday, June 3, 2020, in the Manhattan borough of New York. Protests continued following the death of George Floyd, who died after being restrained by Minneapolis police officers on May 25. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) (John Minchillo/AP)
Day 9 Protesters breach a line of police atop the Crescent City Connection bridge, which spans the Mississippi River in New Orleans, Wednesday, June 3, 2020, during a protest over the death of George Floyd, who died May 25 after being restrained by police in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) (Gerald Herbert/AP)
Day 9 Dominique Bryant, 23, left, and Nastajia Walker, 21, right join demonstrators as they gather to protest the death of George Floyd, Wednesday, June 3, 2020, outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington. Floyd died after being restrained by Minneapolis police officers. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) (Jacquelyn Martin/AP)
Day 9 Demonstrators take part in a protest, Wednesday, June 3, 2020, in downtown Los Angeles, sparked by the death of George Floyd, who died May 25 after he was restrained by Minneapolis police. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu) (Ringo H.W. Chiu/AP)
Day 9 LGBTQ community members join Black Lives Matter protesters as they block an intersection laying on the street with their hands behind their backs in West Hollywood, Calif. on Wednesday, June 3, 2020, over the death of George Floyd. Floyd, a black man died after being restrained by Minneapolis police officers on May 25. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel) (Richard Vogel/AP)
Day 9 A protester and a police officer stare at one another on the Crescent City Connection bridge, which spans the Mississippi River in New Orleans, Wednesday, June 3, 2020, during a protest over the May 25 death of George Floyd, who died after being restrained by police in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) (Gerald Herbert/AP)
Day 9 Protesters hold up placards as people gather for a demonstration on Wednesday, June 3, 2020, in Hyde Park, London, over the death of George Floyd, a black man who died after being restrained by Minneapolis police officers on May 25. Protests have taken place across America and internationally, after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee against Floyd's neck while the handcuffed black man called out that he couldn't breathe. The officer, Derek Chauvin, has been fired and charged with murder. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth) (STF/AP)
Day 9 Demonstrators gather at a rally to peacefully protest and demand an end to institutional racism and police brutality, Wednesday, June 3, 2020, in Portland, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty) (Robert F. Bukaty/AP)
Day 9 Protesters kneel in front of New York City Police Department officers before being arrested for violating curfew beside the iconic Plaza Hotel on 59th Street, Wednesday, June 3, 2020, in New York. Protests continued following the death of George Floyd, who died after being restrained by Minneapolis police officers on May 25. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) (John Minchillo/AP)
Day 9 A protester is arrested for violating curfew near the Plaza Hotel on Wednesday, June 3, 2020, in the Manhattan borough of New York. Protests continued following the death of George Floyd, who died after being restrained by Minneapolis police officers on May 25. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) (John Minchillo/AP)
Day 9 A demonstrator stares at a National Guard solider as protests continue over the death of George Floyd, Wednesday, June 3, 2020, near the White House in Washington. Floyd died after being restrained by Minneapolis police officers. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) (Alex Brandon/AP)
Day 9 Thousands of people line Erasmus bridge as they take part in a demonstration in Rotterdam, Netherlands, Wednesday, June 3, 2020, to protest against the recent killing of George Floyd, police violence and institutionalized racism. Floyd, a black man, died in police custody in Minneapolis, U.S.A., after being restrained by police officers on May 25, 2020. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong) (Peter Dejong/AP)
Day 9 A Utah National Guard solider fist-bumps with a demonstrator as protests over the death of George Floyd continue, Wednesday, June 3, 2020, near the White House in Washington. Floyd died after being restrained by Minneapolis police officers. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) (Alex Brandon/AP)
Day 9 A man puts his hand on the shoulder of a young boy during a peaceful rally to protest the death of George Floyd, in downtown New Orleans, Tuesday, June 2, 2020. Floyd died after being restrained by Minneapolis police officers on Memorial Day. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) (Gerald Herbert/AP)
Day 9 A woman shouts slogans in front of the U.S. Embassy in Bogota, Colombia, Wednesday, June 3, 2020, during a rally to protest the death of George Floyd, a black man who was killed in police custody in Minneapolis on May 25. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara) (Fernando Vergara/AP)
Day 9 A demonstrator, who identified himself as "J", sits in the street as demonstrators briefly block Loyola Ave. in downtown New Orleans, Tuesday, June 2, 2020, during a protest over the death of George Floyd, who died after being restrained by Minneapolis police officers on Memorial Day. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) (Gerald Herbert/AP)
The white police officer “didn’t let up, he didn’t get up” even after a handcuffed Floyd said 27 times that he couldn’t breathe and went motionless, Blackwell said.
“He put his knees upon his neck and his back, grinding and crushing him, until the very breath -- no ladies and gentlemen -- until the very life, was squeezed out of him,” the prosecutor said.
Underscoring the central role that video will play in the case, the prosecution played the footage for the jury during opening statements.
The video was posted to Facebook by an bystander who witnessed Floyd’s arrest after he was accused of trying to pass a counterfeit $20 bill at a convenience store.
“My stomach hurts. My neck hurts. Everything hurts,” Floyd says, and “I can’t breathe officer.”
Onlookers repeatedly shout at the officers to get off the 46-year-old Floyd.
One woman, identifying herself as a fire department employee, shouts at Chauvin to check Floyd’s pulse.
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George Floyd visitation Mourners pass by the casket of George Floyd during a public visitation for Floyd at the Fountain of Praise church Monday, June 8, 2020, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, Pool) (David J. Phillip/AP)
George Floyd visitation Mourner Charlene Thompson, of Houston, passes by the casket of George Floyd during a public visitation for Floyd at the Fountain of Praise church Monday, June 8, 2020, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, Pool) (David J. Phillip/AP)
George Floyd visitation A family walks towards the open casket during a public visitation for George Floyd Monday, June 8, 2020, at The Fountain of Praise church in Houston. (Godofredo A. Vásquez/Houston Chronicle via AP, Pool) (Godofredo A. Vásquez/AP)
George Floyd visitation Mourners pass by the casket of George Floyd during a public visitation for Floyd at the Fountain of Praise church Monday, June 8, 2020, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, Pool) (David J. Phillip/AP)
George Floyd visitation Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner passes by the casket of George Floyd during a public visitation for Floyd at the Fountain of Praise church, Monday, June 8, 2020, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, Pool) (David J. Phillip/AP)
George Floyd visitation Texas Gov. Greg Abbott visits the casket during a public visitation for George Floyd Monday, June 8, 2020, at The Fountain of Praise church in Houston. (Godofredo A. Vásquez/Houston Chronicle via AP, Pool) (Godofredo A. Vásquez/AP)
George Floyd visitation Guests arrive at a public visitation for George Floyd at the Fountain of Praise Church on Monday, June 8, 2020 in Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) (Eric Gay/AP)
George Floyd visitation Mourners pass by the casket of George Floyd during a public visitation for Floyd at the Fountain of Praise church Monday, June 8, 2020, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, Pool) (David J. Phillip/AP)
George Floyd visitation Guest line up for visitation for George Floyd at the Fountain of Praise Church on Monday, June 8, 2020 in Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) (Eric Gay/AP)
George Floyd visitation Mourners wait to visit the casket during a public visitation for George Floyd Monday, June 8, 2020, at The Fountain of Praise church in Houston. (Godofredo A. Vásquez/Houston Chronicle via AP, Pool) (Godofredo A. Vásquez/AP)
George Floyd visitation Mourners pass by the casket of George Floyd during a public visitation for Floyd at the Fountain of Praise church Monday, June 8, 2020, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, Pool) (David J. Phillip/AP)
George Floyd visitation Guest line up for visitation for George Floyd at the Fountain of Praise Church on Monday, June 8, 2020 in Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) (Eric Gay/AP)
George Floyd visitation Mourners pass by the casket of George Floyd during a public visitation for Floyd at the Fountain of Praise church Monday, June 8, 2020, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, Pool) (David J. Phillip/AP)
George Floyd visitation Mourners pass by the casket of George Floyd during a public visitation for Floyd at the Fountain of Praise church Monday, June 8, 2020, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, Pool) (David J. Phillip/AP)
George Floyd visitation Mourners visit the casket during a public visitation for George Floyd Monday, June 8, 2020, at the Fountain of Praise church in Houston. (Godofredo A. Vásquez/Houston Chronicle via AP, Pool) (Godofredo A. Vásquez/AP)
George Floyd visitation Mourner and Houston Police officer H. Harris passes by the casket of George Floyd during a public visitation for Floyd at the Fountain of Praise church Monday, June 8, 2020, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, Pool) (David J. Phillip/AP)
The widely seen video sparked outrage across the U.S. and led to widespread protests and scattered violence, along with a national reckoning over racial injustice and police brutality.
The key questions at trial will be whether Chauvin caused Floyd’s death and whether his actions were reasonable.