Witness breaks down as he watches video of George Floyd arrest
The trial for former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin continues Wednesday after several witnesses delivered compelling testimony surrounding the death of George Floyd.
Witnesses said they pleaded with the police officer who was seen with his knee pressed into Mr Floyd’s neck for several minutes on bystander-recorded video, which subsequently sparked international protests, to stop hurting Mr Floyd. They said they watched as Mr Floyd died, often becoming emotional and wiping away tears while recounting those painful memories.
“There was a man being killed,” Genevieve Hansen, a Minneapolis firefighter and one of several bystanders seen and heard shouting at Mr Chauvin on that video, said on Tuesday. “I would have been able to provide medical attention to the best of my abilities. And this human was denied that right.”
The trial continued with additional witnesses delivering testimony on Wednesday, including 19-year-old Christopher Martin, who worked at the store Mr Floyd visited just before his death.
Charles McMillian, 61, became emotional and sobbed uncontrollably after the prosecution showed video of the police struggling to get George Floyd into the patrol car and calling for his mother.
“I feel helpless,” said a distraught Mr McMillian as the judge told the court it would take a ten minute break.
The jury was then shown MPD body camera video footage taken by each of the four officers involved in the incident, showing Mr Floyd’s death from a string of different angles.
Follow The Independent’s live updates on the trial below:
Welcome to our live coverage of the trial in Minneapolis of Derek Chauvin, a former police officer charged with the murder of George Floyd, whose death last year sparked Black Lives Matter protests.
Jane Dalton31 March 2021 12:32
Firefighter ‘was warned not to get involved’
A Minneapolis firefighter whose offers of medical aid to George Floyd during his arrest last May were rebuffed by police is due to return to the witness stand.
The third day of testimony in the Chauvin trial comes after jurors on Tuesday heard bystanders describe how they watched Floyd’s arrest on 25 May, and screamed at Chauvin to get off Floyd’s neck.
Among the witnesses on Tuesday was teenager Darnella Frazier, who recorded a video showing Chauvin using his knee to pin the neck of Floyd, 46, to the ground.
Lawyers for Chauvin, 45, say he followed his police training and is not guilty of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.
Genevieve Hansen, a firefighter who was off duty when she arrived at the scene, can be heard on the video screaming at the police to check Floyd’s pulse.
“I pled and was desperate,” she told the court. She said another officer there told her: “If you really are a Minneapolis firefighter, you would know better than to get involved.”
After her increasingly combative exchanges with Eric Nelson, Chauvin’s lead lawyer, Hennepin County District Judge Peter Cahill sent out the jury and warned Ms Hansen not to argue with the court or with lawyers.
Jane Dalton31 March 2021 12:40
More: Off-duty firefighter called 911 when police refused to let her treat George Floyd
Graeme Massie has the story: An off-duty firefighter called 911 when police refused to let her treat George Floyd and worried about the safety of Black witnesses, a murder trial heard.
Genevieve Hansen, 27, told a court that she was “desperate” to check Mr Floyd’s pulse but was denied access by the officers detaining him.
Chris Riotta31 March 2021 13:52
Teenage witness tells murder trial Derek Chauvin brandished mace at her as he knelt on George Floyd
High school student testifies Mr Chauvin was “kind of angry” and she was “scared” of him
Chris Riotta31 March 2021 14:02
Trial on recess until 10 a.m. ET
Here’s Akshita Jain with something you may have missed yesterday: A high school teacher chained herself to a metal fence outside the Hennepin County Government Center on Monday to demand police reforms as the Derek Chauvin trial continued inside.
Mr Chauvin is charged with murder and manslaughter in the death of George Floyd in May last year. He is accused of pinning Floyd to the pavement for what prosecutors said was nine minutes and 29 seconds.
Kaia Hirt, a teacher at Champlin Park High School, said she was protesting to show support for the families of those who have been killed by the police. “I’m frustrated by local and state officials’ failure to address racist policing in the community,” she said, according to The Star Tribune.
Chris Riotta31 March 2021 14:18
Witness describes seeing Floyd ‘slowly fade away’
A man who was among onlookers shouting at a Minneapolis police officer to get off George Floyd last May returned to the stand on Tuesday, a day after he described seeing Floyd struggle for air and his eyes rolling back into his head, saying he saw Floyd “slowly fade away.”
Witness describes seeing Floyd ‘slowly fade away’
A man who was among onlookers shouting at a Minneapolis police officer to get off George Floyd last May returns to the stand on Tuesday, a day after he described seeing Floyd struggle for air and his eyes rolling back into his head, saying he saw Floyd “slowly fade away
Chris Riotta31 March 2021 14:35
George Floyd told police ‘I can’t breathe’ 27 times as defendant accused of ‘betraying badge’
Josh Marcus writes: Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin “betrayed his badge” when he knelt on George Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes as he was arresting him for using a counterfeit $20 bill, a jury has heard at the start of his murder trial.
Opening arguments began on Monday in the trial of the white former police officer charged with murdering an unarmed Black man, whose death inspired worldwide civil rights protests.
Chris Riotta31 March 2021 14:56
Opinion: What we saw in the courtroom today was yet another post-mortem criminalization of a Black victim of police brutality
Ahmed Baba writes: This is the Derek Chauvin trial, not the George Floyd trial, in spite of what Chauvin’s defense team seems to want you to think. It’s important to bear that in mind before we even begin to deconstruct what happened in the courtroom today.
The opening statements on the first day of this highly anticipated trial gave a clear indication of how we can expect proceedings to continue. The prosecution made a profoundly compelling opening argument backed by video evidence; Chauvin’s defense attorneys, on the other hand, sought to make this all about Floyd. What we saw, in other words, was yet another post-mortem criminalization of a Black victim of police brutality.
Chris Riotta31 March 2021 15:16
Derek Chauvin trial continues
The recess is ending and individuals are taking their seats in the courthouse for another day of testimony.
Stay tuned for live updates.
Chris Riotta31 March 2021 15:34
Christopher Martin, 19, delivers testimony
A witness who lived above the grocery parking lot where George Floyd was killed is delivering testimony on Wednesday about what he saw when he was working the day of the arrest.
Chris Riotta31 March 2021 15:43
