Derek Chauvin Murder Trial: Daily Updates

Day 2 Testimony Ends With EMT Describing Her Desperate Pleas To Help George Floyd

6:14 p.m.

An emotional and at times contentious second day of testimony in the Derek Chauvin trial concluded with the off-duty emergency medical technician that witnessed George Floyd’s arrest on May 25, 2020, telling prosecutors and defense lawyers what she saw based on her own expertise.

Genevieve Hansen, a Minneapolis firefighter who has been in her job for two years testified that she tried to tell former officer Tou Thao that she was a first responder and could offer help, but he apparently didn’t believe her and ordered her along with others at the scene to get back on the sidewalk. She argued with Thao, pleading to be allowed to take his pulse. He told her if she were an EMT, she should know better.

She testified that she knew Floyd was in distress because of the “puffy and swollen” appearance of his face, “which would happen if you are putting a grown man’s weight on someone’s neck,” referring to Chauvin. Hansen said that she also noted what she thought was a fluid coming from Floyd’s body, indicating a sign of impending death.

“In a lot of cases, we see a patient release their bladder when they die,” she said, but also admitting she didn’t know for sure where the fluid was coming from. But what indicated that Floyd’s death was imminent to her was his “altered state of consciousness.” In a normal state, she said, Chauvin’s knee would have been painful enough for him to react, but he did not.

She testified to Assistant Minneapolis Attorney General Matthew Frank the steps she would have taken to help Floyd, had she been allowed. “I would have requested additional help, asked someone to call 911 for paramedics to come,” and also checked his airway because of a possible damage to his spinal cord and also checked for a pulse and started chest compressions.

In cross examination, defense attorney Eric Nelson asked Hansen if she had ever fought a fire where others approached and told her how to do her job.

“I’m very confident in the training i’ve been given so I would not be concerned,” she said.

“What if someone threatened you?” said Nelson.

“I’m confident in my job and what i do and what needs to be done. so i would continue to do that,” she replied. He also asked her about being filmed doing her job but she said that she had been filmed.

That later led to Judge Peter Cahill scolding Hansen about the answers she was giving, telling her that she was to answer questions specifically. He ended testimony for the day after that.

Hansen is expected to resume testimony Wednesday morning.

Teen Witness Testifies Feeling of Helplessness Watching George Floyd’s Arrest

4:32 p.m.

A teenager who was present when officers attempted the fatal arrest of George Floyd said that she felt helpless as she watched officers pin him to the ground and as he slowly lost consciousness while former officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck.

“I knew time was running out or it had already,” said the high school senior who said that she once knew Darnella Frazier, the witness who had testified earlier. 

She said she had gone to Cup Foods, the store where Floyd was accused of passing a counterfeit $20 bill to buy an auxiliary cable for her phone. But when she saw the disturbing scene, she began to record the incident on her cellphone and joined others in yelling for officers to get off of Floyd. It was so unnerving, she said, that she considered leaving.

“I almost walked away at first because it was a lot to watch. But I knew that it was wrong and I couldn’t just walk away, even though I couldn’t do anything about it,” she told Minnesota Assistant Attorney General Erin Eldridge.

Prosecutors played the video from her phone, which was similar to other Frazier’s footage but from a different vantage and with the same audio.

On cross examination, Chauvin defense lawyer Eric Nelson asked the teenager about an interview she had with police who were investigating the incident in which she said the responding officers check Floyd’s pulse “multiple times.” But in the questioning she disputed that. Previous witnesses testified they did not see that happen.

None of the witnesses who were minors at the time of the incident were shown on camera. Frazier was not shown, but her name was revealed as she has been public about her involvement as a witness.

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Tearful Testimony From Young Woman Whose Video of George Floyd’s Death Went Viral

1:25 p.m.

The testimony of two young witnesses, one of whom took the video that millions have watched of George Floyd’s last conscious moments, became emotional, at times fighting back tears, during the trial’s second day as descriptions of Derek Chauvin making the arrest were recounted.

Darnella Frazier, who was a minor at the time of the incident, but has since turned 18, posted the video of the arrest on Facebook and it went viral from there. Almost from the beginning, she was emotional and nervous when she remembered the events of May 25, 2020.

Under questioning from Special Prosecutor Jerry Blackwell, she said that she was at the scene with her younger cousin and that she began to record what happened.  “I heard George Floyd say, ‘I can’t breathe. Please get off me,” she said. “It seemed like he knew it was over for him. He was suffering.”

In describing Chauvin, whose knee was on Floyd’s neck: “He just stared at us, looked at us. He had like this cold look, heartless,” she said. “He didn’t care. It seemed as if he didn’t care what we were saying.”

Frazier has been public about witnessing George Floyd’s arrest. She has given interviews to the media and has received a national courage award for her role in making the issue known. Her face was not shown during the testimony because Judge Peter Cahill wanted her to be more comfortable on the witness stand.

In cross-examination, defense attorney Eric Nelson asked Frazier about the crowd that had gathered becoming louder. She said they did become louder as things continued.

“What we seen is how we reacted,” she said. “Like you said, the video speaks for itself.”

In redirect questioning, Blackwell asked how seeing what happened to Floyd affected her.

“When I look at George Floyd, I look at my dad, I look at my brothers, I look at my cousins, my uncles, my friends because they’re all Black,” she said. “I look at how that could have been one of them.”

She said that she sometimes stays up crying, apologizing to Floyd, and wishing she could have done more to help him.

Frazier’s 9-year-old cousin also briefly testified. Her identity was concealed because of her age. She testified to Blackwell that she saw an ambulance arrive, and ask Chauvin “nicely” to release him, but he did not comply and they had to physically remove him.

Nelson did not cross-examine her.

Further Questioning of Donald Williams Becomes Tense As Defense Goes Deeper

11:55 a.m.

The exchange between Donald Williams and defense and prosecution lawyers in the Derek Chauvin trial became more detailed and at times testimony became contentious as both sides questioned him.

Defense attorney Eric Nelson asked Williams about his experience as a wrestler and as an MMA fighter, but also got him to admit that in his mixed martial arts training at a gym where law enforcement personnel also trained, that he never trained with them.

Later he moved on to the incident in which Floyd was being subdued by Chauvin, and pressed him on what he said in his exchanges with the former officer along with Tou Thao, who was responding with him. He confirmed that he shouted obscenities at Chauvin and called him a  “bum” multiple times.

Alluding to the crowd that had gathered possibly distracting Chauvin, Nelson asked him if he became angry when he spoke with the officers, but he maintained that he was not. “I stayed in my body. You can’t paint me out to be angry.”

But Williams also testified that he called 911 when the incident happened. “I believe I witnessed a murder,” he told Assistant Minnesota Attorney General Matthew Frank. “I felt the need to call the police on the police.”

Nelson launched a series of objections over questioning of Williams using his expertise as a mixed martial artist as opposed to his not being a medical doctor and being unable to answer questions that would be medical in nature.

In further questions, Williams, who also has worked as a security guard, said he felt he had to vocally defend Floyd because of the distress he appeared to be in.

“I just was really trying to keep my professionalism and make sure that I speak out for Floyd’s life because I felt like he was in very much danger and I seen another man like me being controlled in a way…” he said, before the judge told him he had answered the question.

Four other witnesses were being called for more testimony, but their identities and faces will not be shown because they either are minors or were minors at the time of the incident in question.

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Day 2: Donald Williams Impromptu Expert Witness Testimony Continues

March 30, 2021
10:15 a.m.

The trial of former Minneapolis policeman Derek Chauvin started Tuesday morning (March 30) with the continued testimony of Donald Williams, a professional mixed martial arts fighters who witnessed the arrest of George Floyd, which resulted in his death.

Williams, a high school and college wrestler who has trained in MMA with law enforcement officers at a local Minneapolis gym, testified Monday that he recognized the “blood choke” being applied by Chauvin and that he knew it could be fatal.

Prosecutors will continued to question Williams about what he witnessed as he begged along with others for Chauvin to release him from the hold he had on Floyd by pinning him under his knee. Defense lawyers will follow with more questioning, but it is unclear what direction that will take.

Also, presiding Judge Peter Cahill also determined that the witnesses who are minors, whose identities have been withheld will also not be shown on camera while they testify.

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MMA Fighter Who Saw George Floyds’ Death Becomes Impromptu Expert Witness

6:06 p.m.

The first day of the Derek Chauvin trial was filled with basic descriptions of the scene in front of the Cup Foods store on 38th Street and Chicago in Minneapolis, but ended with an eyewitness, who because of his expertise in wrestling and mixed martial arts, turned out to be, for all intents and purposes, an expert witness for the prosecution.

Donald Williams, a Minneapolis resident, who was a high school and college wrestler who later became a professional MMA fighter, testified that Chauvin used on George Floyd what is called a “blood choke” whose purpose is to cut off oxygen and render an opponent unconscious and can lead to death.

While on the stand, Williams said Chauvin was “shimmying to actually get the final choke in while he was on top, to get the kill choke.”

Williams had driven to the corner grocery after a fishing trip earlier that day. He said he noticed police activity there, but decided not to avoid the scene. When he got there, other people were there as Floyd was being restrained. On video of the incident presented earlier in the day, Williams’ voice could be heard pleading with the officers to let Floyd up and telling officer Tou Thao to check Floyd’s pulse.

He said that he told Chauvin what type of hold he had on Floyd and their eyes met and the officer acknowledge him, but continued the procedure.

“When I said it was a blood choke, it’s the only time he looked up,” Williams said. “You see Floyd fade away like the fish in the bag. He vocalized that he can’t breathe and ‘I’m sorry.’ His eyes rolled back in his head.”

Two other witnesses also took the stand on Monday. Jena Scurry, a 911 dispatcher, testified that she started to worry when she saw on a monitor that officers were kneeling on Floyd to hold him to the ground.

“My instincts were telling me that something was wrong,” she said. “I don’t know if they had to use force or not. They got something out of the back of the squad, and all of them sat on this man. So I don’t know if they needed to or not, but they haven’t said anything to me yet.” She said she called the sergeant to report what was happening.

But the defense attempted to show jurors that she was not an expert on use of force techniques.

Also, Alisha Oyler, who worked at the gas station across the street from the store testified that she stood several dozen feet away, taking cellphone video. She testified that she took the footage because “police is always messing with people.” But she could not specifically recollect every detail of what happened.

Testimony wrapped up late Monday and is expected to continue with more questioning of Wiliams by the prosecution and then cross-examination from the defense.

Derek Chauvin Defense Opens By Arguing Trauma From Arrest Did Not Kill George Floyd

12:17 p.m.

The defense began the Derek Chauvin trial, maintaining that George Floyd’s cause of death was not because of being pinned to the ground by the neck, but because of other medical conditions and drugs in his system.

Attorney Eric Nelson pointed out to jurors that Floyd had other conditions including heart disease, that there were no bruises or contusions that would show evidence of asphyxiation, that Floyd attempted to hide drugs in his mouth to conceal them from police, and that bystander noise and a perceived threat prevented officers from administering proper care to Floyd.

RELATED: OPINION: A Guilty Verdict For Derek Chauvin Is The Only Justice Acceptable For George Floyd

“A significant battle in this trial is going to be: What was Mr. Floyd’s actual case of death,” said Nelson. He also noted that officers did call for emergency help and alerted them to arrive as soon as possible.  Also, he said an entire conversation between the officers behind the squad car was taking place that bystanders were not aware of.

“When you review the actual evidence, and when you hear the law and apply reason and common sense, there will only be one just verdict, and that is to find Mr. Chauvin not guilty,” Nelson said.

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Prosecutors Open With Video of George Floyd’s Arrest and Death At Police Hands

11: 47 a.m.

The disturbing nine-minute video of George Floyd’s final moments was shown to jurors at the murder trial of Derek Chauvin as the first exhibit of evidence against the former Minneapolis officer.

The footage is just one of several pieces of video evidence that prosecutors said they will show, including other cellphone footage from other bystanders. A long list of witnesses will be called by the prosecution, among them two minors who were standing in front of the grocery where the incident took place, the vocal young man heard on the video shouting at Chauvin that Floyd was losing his life, and the first responder who kept asking officers to check Floyd’s pulse.

Prosecuting attorney Jerry Blackwell explained to jurors that Chauvin refused to get off of Floyd for the entire time he pleaded for him to, which constituted a homicide. He also said that although Floyd struggled with an opioid addiction, that his death was not characteristic of an opioid overdose.

“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,” Blackwell said in his one-hour opening statement.

Opening Statements To Start in Trial of Derek Chauvin; Prosecutors, Defense Begin Their Strategies

March 29, 2021
10:30 a.m.

The most anticipated trial of the past decade gets underway Monday (March 29) in Minneapolis with opening arguments as former police officer Derek Chauvin faces a jury who will determine if he goes to jail for the death of George Floyd. Jury selection was completed last week with 12 jurors seated to hear the trial, with two alternates chosen as well.

The trial is expected to be a heavily-watched proceeding because of the international response to Floyd’s death last May 25. The 46-year-old man had been suspected by a store clerk of passing a counterfeit $20 bill. But Chauvin, in an attempt to subdue him, knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes as he gasped that he could not breathe. He later died at a nearby hospital. A medical examiner determined that he asphyxiated.

Chauvin and the other officers who responded Tou Thau, J. Alexander Keung and Thomas Lane were fired and later arrested in connection with Floyd’s death. Chauvin was charged with second- and third-degree murder, along with second-degree manslaughter. The remaining officers are scheduled go on trial in August.

Defense attorneys are expected to argue that Floyd’s death was caused by drugs found in his system during the medical examination rather than the pressure of Chauvin’s knee on his neck. But prosecutors are expected to use video footage showing the amount of time the incident took place, providing what they say is evidence of Chauvin’s negligence.

Appearing on NBC’s “Today” show, Monday morning, Floyd’s brother Philonise, along with family attorney Benjamin Crump, said the case should be open and shut.

“We know that this case, to us, is a slam dunk because we know the video is the proof. That’s all you need. The guy was kneeling on my brother’s neck for 8 minutes and 46 second,” said Floyd. “A guy who was sworn in to protect, he killed my brother in broad daylight. That was a modern-day lynching.”

Hennepin County District Judge Peter Cahill will preside over the trial, which is expected to last three weeks.

Come back to BET.com each day for continued coverage of the trial as it progresses in Minneapolis.