George Floyd Murder Trial Underway

9 minutes and 29 seconds – the length of time police knelt on George Floyd’s neck – the length of time it took for Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin to use his knee as a weapon to squeeze the life out of Floyd, a human being who laid there on the ground – calling for his mama – between pleading with Chauvin and three other officers over 27 times that he could not breath. It is a video that horrified America and caused unrest in communities across the country who demanded accountability and reform.

Some have defined this as a modern day lynching, the killing of yet another person of color at the hands of law enforcement. The “satisfied” and “disturbing” look on the officers’ face says more about him than any trial could ever provide. As he knelt there smirking, with his hands calmly in his pocket, it says he is GOD over this person. It says he is empowered and embolden to end George Floyd’s life in front of witnesses and no one can stop him.

So here we are, reliving this visual nightmare over and over again for the next few weeks, as the trial of former officer Dereck Chauvin begins. During his opening statement, the prosecution played the full video of Floyd’s death for the jury of 5 men and nine women. Of the 14 paneled, 12 will serve as jurors, with two serving as alternates. Their racial makeup is four blacks, eight whites, and two of mixed races. The jury comes from Hennepin County, whose demographics are 74% white and 14% black.

In his opening statement, the defense attorney avoided any references to the nearly 10 minute video of Chauvin on Floyd’s neck and instead suggested to jurors that George Floyd caused his own death because he was high on drugs, he had a heart defect, and that he had adrenaline running through his body. He also suggested that the crowd that had gathered, cars driving by, and other distractions led to Floyd’s demise.

The first person called to the stand was the 911 operator who witnessed the incident via security cameras at the scene. She testified that she thought her screen had frozen because the officer was kneeling on Floyd’s neck for an extended period of time. She called her superiors to tell them of the incident and said she did not care if she was labeled a snitch, what was occurring was wrong. Another witness, an off duty firefighter, said she told officers that she was a first responder and asked them to check Floyd’s pulse. They rebuffed her and demanded she get back on the sidewalk. Another witness said he “called police on the police” to report what was happening to Floyd. A young witness testified that the officer seemed to adjust his angle to apply even more pressure to Floyd’s neck. Even after the paramedics arrived, and it was evident that there was no life left in him, a video showed that Chauvin was still kneeling on Floyd’s neck and literally had to be asked to move off of him by paramedics.

One of the paramedics, Derek Smith, described what he saw when he arrived on the scene. “I thought he was dead,” Smith said when he checked Floyd for a pulse. His pupils were “large” and “dilated,” and he did not detect a pulse. He said he did all he could do to try and revive Floyd. “[H]e’s a human being and I was trying to give him a second chance at life,” Smith said.

The most senior officer on the Minneapolis police department testified Thursday that actions like those used on George Floyd are not part of police department training, saying “if your knee is on a person’s neck, that could kill them.” Lt. Richard Zimmerman, head of the Minneapolis Police’s homicide unit, said the use of force by former officer Derek Chauvin against George Floyd was “totally unnecessary”. ”“Pulling him down to the ground face down, and putting your knee on a neck for that amount of time is just uncalled for. I saw no reason why the officers felt they were in danger — if that’s what they felt — and that’s what they would have to feel to be able to use that kind of force,” Zimmerman said.

The trial resumes this week. Chauvin has pleaded not guilty to second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter charges. The trial is estimated to last three to four weeks with trials for the remaining three former officers slated for August.

Health experts have said that watching the trial and seeing the video footage may be traumatizing to viewers and suggested you seek help if needed. Here are some resources that may help:

• The Anxiety and Depression Associationof America — 1-240-485-1001
• The National Alliance on Mental Illness— 1-800-950-NAMI (6264)
• The Suicide Prevention Lifeline—1-800-273-8255
• The Association of Black Psychologists— 1-301-449-3082