Floyd was fucked up on drugs, foaming at the mouth and was resisting. According to the lawyer for Chauvin, he was restraining Floyd using a prescribed method until an ambulance or a paddy wagon arrived.
The trial of a former Minneapolis police officer, Derek Chauvin, who was charged in George Floyd’s death, is forging ahead with jury selection, even though a looming appellate ruling could halt the case and delay it for weeks or even months as the state tries to add a third-degree murder count.
Judge Peter Cahill said Monday that he intends to keep the trial on track until he’s told to stop.
“Unless the Court of Appeals tells me otherwise, we’re going to keep moving,†he said. Jury selection started Tuesday, a day later than scheduled.
Chauvin is charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter in Floyd’s death. The Court of Appeals last week ordered Cahill to consider reinstating a third-degree murder charge that he had dismissed. Legal experts say reinstating the charge would improve the odds of getting a conviction. Chauvin’s attorney, Eric Nelson, said Monday he would ask the state Supreme Court to review the issue.
Cahill also ruled that a firefighter who can be heard in the bystander video, urging the officers to check Floyd’s pulse, will be allowed to testify about what she saw, and whether she thought medical intervention was needed, but she will not be able to speculate that she could have saved Floyd if she had intervened. In addition, testimony about what training Chauvin received will be allowed.
https://apnews.com/article/police-trials-minneapolis-racial-injustice-death-of-george-floyd-11a74447df93a49e50357b395d290a8f