#Chauvin character witness trial

Officers drew a gun on Floyd within seconds of approaching him in his vehicle. On Wednesday, the court released new security and body camera footage played Wednesday showing accusations that Floyd was aggressive towards officers to be a complete lie. “I would have been able to provide medical attention to the best of my abilities, and this human was denied that right.” “There was a man being killed,” Hansen said. Hansen explained that she was not on duty but immediately identified herself as a firefighter because she thought Floyd needed medical attention. Williams said the only time Chauvin looked at him was when he called out that the officer was doing a “blood choke.” This moment was captured in the infamous image of Chauvin looking into the camera while on top of Floyd.ĭarnella Frazier, a bystander who captured footage of the incident, broke into tears as she told the court she stayed awake some nights “apologizing and apologizing to George Floyd for not doing more and not physically interacting and not saving his life.”Ī Minneapolis firefighter, Genevieve Hansen, testified Tuesday how she begged officers to check Floyd’s pulse when she arrived at the scene. On Monday, Donald Williams testified that Chauvin knowingly used a “blood choke” on Floyd, cutting off blood flow to the brain, when he kneeled on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes. The prosecutors have been building the case against Chauvin throughout the week. Police are first responders and are given regular CPR training, and are, he noted, “absolutely” obligated to provide medical intervention to an injured suspect before an ambulance arrives. The officers should have given Floyd immediate medical attention before paramedics arrived, Zimmerman said. “The crowd shouldn’t have an effect on your actions.” “It doesn’t matter-the crowd-as long as they’re not attacking you,” he said.

When asked about the crowd of bystanders, he testified that the crowd did not represent an “uncontrollable threat” that would have otherwise occupied officers’ attention. “If you’re laying on your chest, that’s constricting even more.”Īfter reviewing body cam footage of the incident, Zimmerman described the officers’ use of force as “totally unnecessary.” He stated he saw no reason why officers should have felt that they were in danger, adding that Floyd did not attempt to kick the officers, suggesting they had no reason to continue to use force while he was on the ground. “Once a person is handcuffed, you need to get them out of the prone position as soon as possible because it restricts their breathing,” said Zimmerman. Zimmerman stated that a person should never remain prone, as Floyd was when officers pinned him to the pavement. He also described the training he had received on the prone position, in which a person is placed face down on the ground.

After a person is in handcuffs, they represent no threat to officers, he said. The policy, Zimmerman explained, involves officers continuously reevaluating and adjusting the level of force used against someone, depending on the “threat level” posed. Zimmerman detailed the use of force training officers receive, noting police are trained to abide by the department’s use of force continuum. His testimony left no doubt that Chauvin’s use of force was unnecessary and led to Floyd’s death.

#Chauvin character witness trial

The first week in the trial of former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin, charged with the murder of George Floyd, concluded Friday with critical testimony from Lieutenant Richard Zimmerman, the longest serving officer in the Minneapolis Police Department.