With that foundation work in place, it is expected that the Prosecution will now focus on proving that Chauvin’s actions that day should be considered murder and manslaughter. That requires analysis from medical experts who will explain Floyds cause of death, as well as testimonials from police experts who will say that Chauvin used excessive and unnecessary violence.
Opening statements last week, Prosecutor Jerry Blackwell said he expected testimony from Arradondo, the Hennepin County medical examiner and several forensic pathologists.
“When Mr. Floyd stopped resisting the officers, they could have ended the restraint,” Sgt. Said David Pleoger. “It would be reasonable to put a knee on someone’s neck until they stop resisting, but it should stop when they are no longer combative.”
Chauvin, 45, pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and third-degree manslaughter.
Defense attorney Eric Nelson has argued that Floyd died of a drug overdose and other pre-existing health problems, and that Chauvin’s actions were within his police training. Nelson has not stated whether Chauvin will testify in his own defense.
Testimony in the trial began last Monday and is expected to last about a month.
The doctor says Floyd probably died of asphyxiation
The doctor who treated Floyd at the Hennepin County Medical Center last May testified Monday that he believed Floyd most likely died of asphyxiation.
Dr. Bradford Langenfeld, an emergency care physician, said he treated Floyd for about 30 minutes on May 25, 2020, as hospital staff tried unsuccessfully to restart his heart. Langenfeld went through a checklist of possible causes of Floyd’s cardiac arrest and said the “more likely possibility” was hypoxia or lack of oxygen.
“Doctor, is there another name for oxygen deprivation death?” prosecutor Jerry Blackwell asked.
“Choking is a commonly understood term,” Langenfeld replied.
Earlier Monday, Judge Peter Cahill spoke to jurors out of sight of cameras about an allegation of the juror’s misconduct. He ruled that there was no wrongdoing and that the jurors were credible.
Feelings of guilt and horror in the first week of the trial
Pain, trauma and regret came out of court in Minneapolis last week when a string of bystanders and first responders spoke about watching Floyd’s last breaths.
Blackwell said Chauvin knelt for 4 minutes and 45 seconds while Floyd called for help, 53 seconds while swinging because of attacks and 3 minutes and 51 seconds because Floyd did not respond. He didn’t let go of Floyd until an ambulance motioned him to get out.
The bystanders who watched the incident described feelings of horror and guilt in the stands. The teenager who shot the widely known bystander video testified that she could no longer sleep at night and wondered what else she could have done.
“It has been nights when I apologized to George Floyd for not doing anymore and not having physical contact and not saving his life. But it’s not what I should have done, it’s what he should have done,” said Darnella Frazier , referring to Chauvin.
Frazier was walking with a 9-year-old girl to the Cup Foods supermarket at the time of the arrest.
“I was sad and a little angry,” the girl testified. “Because it felt like he had stopped breathing, and it was like he was hurting him.”
An off duty firefighter who came to the scene said she was trying to help, but the officers turned her down.
“I tried to reason calmly, I tried to be assertive, I pleaded and was desperate,” said Genevieve Hansen. “I was desperate to help.”
Christopher Martin, the 19-year-old cashier who suspected Floyd had handed him a counterfeit $ 20 bill before the police were called, echoed other witnesses’ regrets.
“Had I not taken the bill, this could have been avoided,” he said.
CNN’s Ray Sanchez and Omar Jimenez contributed to this report.