today-is-a-good-day
4.3 C
New York
Friday, March 29, 2024
HomeNewsUse-of-force expert testifies that Chauvin justified in the deadly arrest of Floyd

Use-of-force expert testifies that Chauvin justified in the deadly arrest of Floyd

MINNEAPOLIS — Defence attorneys in the murder trial of Derek Chauvin on Tuesday called an expert witness who testified that the former Minneapolis police officer was justified and reasonable in his use of force during his arrest of George Floyd.

After 11 days of testimony by prosecution witnesses, Eric Nelson, lead attorney for Chauvin, called Barry Brodd, a private consultant in the use of force by law enforcement who said Chauvin was following his training during the encounter.

His testimony contradicted several prosecution witnesses, including the city police chief, who earlier in the trial said Chauvin had no justification for kneeling on the 46-year-old Black man’s neck for more than nine minutes.

“Officer Chauvin’s interactions with Mr. Floyd were following his training, following current practices, and were objectively reasonable,” Brodd testified.

Chauvin’s defense team also sought to highlight Floyd’s apparent history of drug abuse, laying the groundwork to support its argument that he died of an overdose, rather than from lack of oxygen caused by Chauvin’s actions as the prosecution contends.

Chauvin, who is white, has pleaded not guilty to murder and manslaughter charges stemming from the May 2020 incident, captured on bystander videos. The case prompted protests against racism and police brutality in cities in the United States and around the world last summer.

This week, local tensions surrounding the trial intensified when a young Black man was fatally shot by a police officer during a traffic stop in nearby Brooklyn Center, Minnesota.

Many of the most dramatic moments on Tuesday came during the cross-examination of Brodd. Prosecutor Steve Schleicher, challenging the claim that Chauvin was justified in his use of force, got Brodd to agree that Chauvin continued restraining Floyd even after the man had stopped resisting.

“By the time the defendant got off of Mr. Floyd, Mr. Floyd could not support his own head,” Schleicher said. Brodd agreed.

Advertisements

Brodd testified that a compliant person “would have both their hands in the small their back and just be resting comfortably.”

Schleicher tersely responded, asking Brodd whether Floyd was compliant and resting comfortably “when he’s attempting to breathe.”

“No,” Brodd responded.

The first witness called by Chauvin’s defense was Scott Creighton, a now-retired Minneapolis police officer who pulled over a car in which Floyd was a passenger in 2019, a year before his deadly encounter with Chauvin.

Nelson showed the jury a video taken by a body-worn camera during the traffic stop as Floyd became distressed when Creighton pointed a gun at him and ordered him out of a car.

Source: Reuters

Advertisements

RELATED ARTICLES

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

- Advertisment -

Most Popular

Recent Comments

Onuegbu Chuks Theophilus on Mikel Obi quits Super Eagles
Thomas H. Anderson on Roman Goddess_3
Oladimeji Emmanuel on Obama sends investors to Buhari