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Key Moments on Day 11 of the Derek Chauvin Trial
The judge denied a defense motion to sequester the jury after a police shooting in the Minneapolis suburbs.
The third week of testimony in the trial of the former officer Derek Chauvin began on Monday with prosecutors continuing to call witnesses they think will bolster their argument that Mr. Chauvin caused George Floyd’s death by pinning him to the ground for more than nine minutes.
The defense has been able to cross-examine them but must wait to begin making its case — that Mr. Floyd died from underlying health conditions and the use of drugs — in earnest by calling its own witnesses. That process will be followed by closing arguments from both sides and jury deliberation.
Here are some key moments from Day 11 of the trial.
‘He showed us how to treat our mom.’ George Floyd’s brother broke down during his testimony.
In brief, but tearful testimony, Philonise Floyd spoke in loving terms about George Floyd, his older brother. Mr. Floyd, 39, described how the family moved to Houston from North Carolina when he was younger.
The family lived in a low-income development in the Third Ward where Mr. Floyd and his siblings grew up.
“We stayed with each other all the time, me and George,’’ Mr. Floyd said, adding that they enjoyed playing video games as children.
As the big brother, George Floyd took care of his siblings and “was so much of a leader in the household,” his brother said.
“George used to make the best banana mayonnaise sandwiches,” Mr. Floyd said with a smile. He said that George Floyd “couldn’t cook — he couldn’t boil water,” but that he always made sure the siblings had a snack and had their clothes for school.
Philonise Floyd said his brother was also passionate about sports and excelled in football and basketball.
“He always wanted to be the best,” he said.
At one point in the testimony, the prosecutor presented a photo of George Floyd in his No. 5 team jersey, standing with his basketball team when he was a student at South Florida Community College.
“He loved to playing basketball, and he loved teaching people the game of basketball,” Mr. Floyd recalled.
Asked about George Floyd’s relationship with their mother, Mr. Floyd described it as “one of a kind” and added “he was a big momma’s boy.”
Mr. Floyd became teary-eyed when he talked about their close relationship.
“He showed us how to treat our mom, how to respect our mom,’’ he said. “He loved her so dearly.”
He said he and George Floyd texted and called each other often.
“He was my big brother,” he said.
The loss of their mother in May 2018 was very painful for George Floyd, his brother said.
At the funeral, “he was just kissing her, just kissing her, and he didn’t want to leave the casket.”
Mr. Floyd said that was the last time he saw his brother alive.
There was no cross-examination.
An expert said ‘no reasonable’ officer would have used the amount of force that Mr. Chauvin did.
An expert on the use of force by police officers testified that “no reasonable officer” would have acted the way Mr. Chauvin did while arresting Mr. Floyd, who did not appear to be aggressive or even pose a threat to officers.
Seth Stoughton, a law professor and former police officer, spent more than 100 hours reviewing the case against Mr. Chauvin. Testifying for the prosecution, he said he didn’t believe the videos of Mr. Floyd’s death showed him to to be a threat, echoing what the other experts in the trial have said so far.
“Mr. Floyd does not appear to have the intention to assault or attack the officers,” he said. “No reasonable officer would have believed that that was an appropriate, acceptable or reasonable use of force.”
Mr. Stoughton walked the jury through many of the decisions the police made as videos of the arrest played from different angles. Mr. Nelson, the defense attorney, challenged Mr. Stoughton’s account during cross-examination, arguing that the evidence showed the situation kept escalating and the officers were in danger.
By the time Mr. Floyd was on the ground, the “point of conflict” had been resolved, Mr. Stoughton testified. Mr. Floyd was cuffed, didn’t present a threat of harm, and had just thanked officers for taking him out of the squad car because he felt claustrophobic, Mr. Stoughton said. Once someone made a comment, which can be heard on the video, that Mr. Floyd had no pulse, it was clear that Mr. Floyd posed no threat.
“Somebody who does not have a pulse does not present a threat in any way,” Mr. Stoughton said.
Mr. Stoughton also said that drug use is not automatically a reason to use force during an arrest.
“Officers can’t use force on someone just because they are on drugs,” he said. “No reasonable officer would have believed that was an acceptable, appropriate and reasonable use of force.”
Mr. Stoughton disagreed with Mr. Nelson’s argument that bystanders, many of whom filmed the arrest, posed a threat to the officers. Had the officers felt threatened, they would not have yelled comments at the bystanders, Mr. Stoughton said.
Mr. Floyd’s death ‘was absolutely preventable,’ a cardiologist testified.
Dr. Jonathan Rich, a cardiologist called to testify in the trial, said on Monday that Mr. Floyd’s heart was not the main cause of his death. He also ruled out a drug overdose.
“Mr. George Floyd died from a cardiopulmonary arrest,” Dr. Rich said. “It was caused by low oxygen levels” induced by the position that “he was subjected to.”
It was an observation that Dr. Rich repeated: that the way the police officers restrained Mr. Floyd led to his asphyxiation. “He was trying to get enough oxygen and because of the position that he was subjected to, the heart thus did not have enough oxygen,” he said.
Dr. Rich said that part of his clinical work involves reviewing evidence to determine why patients had died. In being called by the state to help determine how Mr. Floyd died, he described his testimony as a “meaningful contribution.”
He said that after examining medical records, the autopsy and video footage of Mr. Floyd’s arrest, he determined that Mr. Floyd’s heart was not the main cause of his death.
Dr. Rich said he had considered two other potential causes, including a primary cardiac event and possibly a drug overdose. But he said: “I can state with a high degree of medical certainty” that Mr. Floyd “did not die from a primary cardiac event and did not die from a drug overdose.”
After reviewing a toxicology report, he said that Mr. Floyd’s methamphetamine levels were low, and that he did not see any signs that a drug overdose had caused his death.
And after watching the video of Mr. Floyd’s arrest, Dr. Rich said he determined that Mr. Floyd was restrained in a life-threatening manner, and that there was no evidence of a sudden cardiac death.
He said he believed Mr. Floyd would have lived, had he been given treatment during several instances shown on the video.
He said he noticed that an officer had said at some point during the arrest that he believed Mr. Floyd was passing out. “That would have been an opportunity to quickly relieve him from that position of not getting enough oxygen,” Dr. Rich said.
He also noted that one officer had suggested that Mr. Floyd be turned on his side but was told to “leave him.” When officers learned that Mr. Floyd had no pulse, their immediate response should have been to administer chest compressions, he said.
“I believe that Mr. George Floyd’s death was absolutely preventable,” Dr. Rich said.
He said Mr. Floyd’s medical records did not show previous complaints or evidence of abnormal rhythms and palpitations and added that Mr. Floyd had an “exceptionally strong heart.”
Asked whether he saw signs that Mr. Floyd had a heart attack, Dr. Rich said, “None, whatsoever.”
On cross-examination, Mr. Chauvin’s lawyer, Eric J. Nelson, asked Dr. Rich whether a combination of factors, including previous drug use, narrowing arteries, high blood pressure and the struggle with the officers, could have resulted in Mr. Floyd’s death even without being restrained in the prone position.
“I found no evidence to support that,” Dr. Rich answered.
Mr. Nelson also asked Dr. Rich whether Mr. Floyd would have survived had he simply got into the back seat of the squad car.
Had he not been restrained in the way that he was, Dr. Rich replied, “I think he would have survived that day.”
The judge denied a defense motion to sequester the jury after a police shooting in the Minneapolis suburbs.
The request from the defense followed the death a 20-year-old Black man who was shot by a police officer during a traffic stop in the Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Center on Sunday night, sending hundreds of protesters into the streets.
Mr. Nelson, the defense lawyer, had argued that the jurors should be ordered to avoid all media and spend the rest of the trial sequestered because he feared that further unrest in the area where the shooting took place might limit their ability as fair jurors. The judge denied that and said the situation in the area, Brooklyn Center, was different because the unrest was not after a jury verdict, but in response to a separate police shooting.
The unrest will be at “forefront of the jury’s mind-set,” Mr. Nelson said. “A verdict in this case will have consequences. They have been exposed to that already. The jury should be sequestered.”
Mr. Nelson asked the court for two things: full sequestration of the jury, and to re-interview each juror about what they know about the protests and the police shooting on Sunday night. Judge Cahill denied both. “This is a totally different case,” he said.
The protests in Brooklyn Center came hours before the start of the third week of Mr. Chauvin’s trial.
Will Wright is a national reporting fellow. He has reported from Oregon, Louisiana, Texas and Kentucky. He previously covered eastern Kentucky for the Lexington Herald-Leader. More about Will Wright
Shaila Dewan is a national reporter and editor covering criminal justice issues including prosecution, policing and incarceration. More about Shaila Dewan
Johnny Diaz is a general assignment reporter covering breaking news. He previously worked for the South Florida Sun Sentinel and The Boston Globe. More about Johnny Diaz
Christine Hauser is a reporter, covering national and foreign news. Her previous jobs in the newsroom include stints in Business covering financial markets and on the Metro Desk in the police bureau. More about Christine Hauser
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