Category Archives: Minneapolis

George Floyd killing: defense rests case after Derek Chauvin declines to testify

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Both sides will make closing arguments on Monday and the case over the death of George Floyd will then go to the jury

Derek Chauvin declined to testify in his murder trial over the killing of George Floyd as the defence wrapped up its case after just two days of testimony.

Chauvin invoked his fifth amendment right against self-incrimination as he sacrificed the chance to explain to the jury why he kept his knee on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes and for his lawyers to paint a more sympathetic picture of the police officer. But he also avoided a minute interrogation of his actions and thinking by the prosecution’s cross-examination.

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Derek Chauvin trial: defense claims bad heart and drug use killed George Floyd

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Dr David Fowler, testifying for the defense, also said vehicle exhaust may have played a part in Floyd’s death

A leading forensic pathologist has told the Derek Chauvin trial that George Floyd was killed by his heart condition and drug use.

Dr David Fowler, testifying for the defence, also introduced the idea that vehicle exhaust may have played a part in Floyd’s death by raising the amount of carbon monoxide in his blood and affecting his heart.

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Minneapolis unrest grows as families of George Floyd and Daunte Wright speak out – video

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Protesters were dispersed by police with flashbangs and gas grenades in the third night of demonstrations and unrest after the death of a black man shot by a white police officer during a traffic stop. The two officers who stopped Daunte Wright, 20, resigned two days after his death in Brooklyn Center on Sunday.

Across town, at Hennepin county courthouse, relatives of Daunte Wright and George Floyd talked about the two cases of fatal police violence. ‘The world is traumatised, watching another African American man being slain,’ said George Floyd’s brother

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Daunte Wright’s brother speaks out at vigil as police use teargas against protesters – video report

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Dallas Bryant, the brother of the 20-year-old Black man who was shot dead by police in the suburbs of Minneapolis on Sunday, says he could never understand Wright's fear of being pulled over by police because he is white. 

He also questioned the validity of the explanation by police that the officer who shot Daunte accidentally shot him because she confused her Taser electrical weapon for her gun.

Police clashed with protesters for a second night. Law enforcement agencies used teargas and other methods to disperse hundreds of people who had gathered outside police headquarters

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Police chief says Minnesota officer mistakenly fired gun instead of Taser – video

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The fatal police shooting of a 20-year-old Black man in a Minneapolis suburb appeared to be an ‘accidental discharge’ by an officer who drew her gun instead of her Taser during a struggle, the city’s police chief said. ‘This appears to me, from what I viewed and the officers’ reaction and distress immediately after, that this was an accidental discharge that resulted in the tragic death of Mr Wright,’ the Brooklyn Center police chief, Tim Gannon, told reporters. Police in the Minneapolis suburb attempted to arrest Daunte Wright following a traffic stop due to an expired vehicle registration. Video footage presented at a news briefing showed a struggle between Wright and officers. Wright then got back into the car and an officer could be heard yelling ‘Taser, Taser, Taser’

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Police say officer who shot and killed unarmed Daunte Wright intended to fire Taser

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Brooklyn Center police chief describes fatal shooting of Black man, 20, as result of ‘accidental discharge’ from handgun

Police in a Minneapolis suburb said an officer accidentally shot and killed a 20-year-old Black man on Sunday afternoon during a traffic stop, releasing graphic body-camera footage they say shows the officer intended to use a Taser not a handgun during the death of unarmed Daunte Wright.

Related: ‘They didn’t have to kill him’: anger and outrage as locals mourn Daunte Wright

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‘Subdual, restraint and compression’ led to Floyd’s death, says forensic pathologist – video

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George Floyd died of a lack of oxygen from the way he was held down by police, a retired forensic pathologist testified on Friday at former officer Derek Chauvin's murder trial. The testimony of Lindsey Thomas, who retired in 2017 from the Hennepin county medical examiner's office in Minneapolis, bolstered testimony by other experts on Thursday that rejected the defence theory that Floyd's drug use and underlying health problems killed him

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George Floyd died from lack of oxygen caused by restraint, lung expert testifies

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  • Dr Martin Tobin: ‘Mr Floyd died from a low level of oxygen’
  • Knee on neck and handcuffs in prone position starved him of air

A leading pulmonary expert has told the Derek Chauvin murder trial that George Floyd was killed by a lack of oxygen because a knee was pressed into his neck while he was held facedown in handcuffs.

As the trial entered its ninth day of testimony, Dr Martin Tobin, a pulmonary and critical care specialist for 40 years, told the jury that the 46-year-old Black man was caught in a “vice” between Chauvin and the street as the breath was squeezed out of him.

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George Floyd died from lack of oxygen, says breathing expert – video

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George Floyd died from a lack of oxygen, which damaged his brain and caused his heart to stop, a medical expert testified on Thursday at the former police officer Derek Chauvin’s murder trial. Floyd’s breathing was too shallow to take in enough oxygen while he was pinned face down with his hands cuffed behind his back for nine and a half minutes as Chauvin knelt on his neck and back, said Dr Martin Tobin, a lung and critical care specialist at the Edward Hines Jr VA hospital and Loyola University’s medical school in Chicago

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Derek Chauvin trial: testimony resumes after police expert says use of force ‘not reasonable’ – live

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Shortly after Tobin has taken the stand, he gives his opinion on Floyd’s cause-of-death: “Mr Floyd died from a low-level of oxygen and this caused damage to his brain...and it also caused a [pulseless electrical activity] arrhythmia that caused his heart to stop.”

“The cause of the low-level of oxygen was shallow breathing, small breaths...shallow breaths that weren’t able to carry the air through his lungs down to the essential areas [in] his lungs,” Tobin says in response to further questions, noting shortly thereafter: “There are a number of forces that led to the size of his breath became so small.”

The Chauvin trial testimony has resumed.

Prosecutors have called their first witness of the day: Dr Martin Tobin, an expert in critical care and pulmonology.

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The protesters who gather every day to demand justice for George Floyd

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A small but determined group rise early to take their spot outside the Minneapolis courthouse – and they stay all day

Behind the Hennepin county courthouse in downtown Minneapolis, which is heavily fortified for the murder trial of Derek Chauvin, a small but determined core of seven protesters gathers every day.

Sometimes there are many more protesters, sometimes not so many. But always this group, there hoping to witness justice for George Floyd, who died under the knee of Chauvin in south Minneapolis last May.

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Derek Chauvin trial: expert witness says George Floyd’s health deteriorated as officer continued using force – live

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Prosecutors are asking Anderson about the initial 27 May processing of the Mercedes SUV, and the second search in December 2020.

Anderson, presented with photos of the Mercedes interior during the first processing, said was asked whether there was a pill there.

Prosecutors have now called McKenzie Anderson to testify, a forensic scientist with Minnesota’s criminal apprehension bureau.

Anderson has been a “crime scene team” leader with the bureau of criminal apprehension since 2016. Anderson headed the crime scene investigation in Floyd’s death. Anderson, a technician, and a photographer from her team, arrived at the scene around 1:15 am on 26 May, 2020.

SA Reyerson testimony is now complete. Onto the 2nd BCA witness in the case, McKenzie Anderson. She was the crime scene lead on death of #GeorgeFloyd investigation. Continued #DerekChauvinTrial coverage live right now on @FOX9. pic.twitter.com/s3NxFP8B23

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Chauvin’s use of force on George Floyd was ‘in no way’ policy, says police chief

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Medaria Arradondo says on sixth day of trial that ex-officer’s treatment of George Floyd breached regulations

The Minneapolis police chief, Medaria Arradondo, told the Derek Chauvin murder trial on Monday that he “vehemently disagrees” that there was any justification for the former police officer to keep his knee on George Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes.

Arradondo said on the sixth day of the trial that Chauvin’s treatment of the 46-year-old Black man breached regulations and showed a disregard “for the sanctity of life”.

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Derek Chauvin trial: Minneapolis police chief says use of force violated policy – live

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The court is just coming back from a short break, but here is a stark detail from the court room.

Coronavirus risks have imposed heavy restrictions on court. Only two media “pool” reporters are allowed into the court room itself. And defendant Derek Chauvin and the family of the late George Floyd were each allocated just one seat to use in the court room.

Here is the most important clip of the day so far. After so much harrowing video footage and lingering stills of then-officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on George Floyd’s neck in the first day or two of last week, the jury and public has been spared.

But the prosecution decided it needed to show one of the defining images of the whole Floyd disaster, that picture of Chauvin, hand in pocket, sunglasses on his head, looking directly into a bystander’s phone camera, while Floyd is pinned under him.

Incredibly damning testimony from the Minneapolis police chief:

Derek Chauvin's actions were "not part of policy, not part of our training, and certainly not part of our ethics or values." pic.twitter.com/gS0RpTGGP0

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Minneapolis ‘on edge’ over outcome of Derek Chauvin trial, Ilhan Omar says

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As the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd headed into its second week, the Democratic congresswoman Ilhan Omar said residents remain “on edge” about the outcome.

Related: George Floyd's girlfriend shared his opioids pain – Derek Chauvin refused to see it

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George Floyd’s girlfriend shared his opioids pain – Derek Chauvin refused to see it

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Courteney Ross’s testimony showed how police departments fail in their duty to protect those who battle addiction

Of all the accounts of George Floyd’s life and death heard in a Minneapolis courtroom this week, perhaps the least expected was his girlfriend’s description of their shared struggle with opioid addiction.

Courteney Ross’s wrenching testimony gave a very human glimpse into the remorseless search for a fix and a mutual fight to shake off drug dependency.

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Detective says Chauvin knee on neck a ‘totally unnecessary’ use of deadly force

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Richard Zimmerman gives testimony and tells court ‘if your knee is on someone’s neck – that could kill them’

A Minneapolis homicide detective has described Derek Chauvin’s decision to press his knee into George Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes as a totally unnecessary use of “deadly force”.

Related: Video of George Floyd's killing retraumatizes many as trial unfolds

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Derek Chauvin’s supervisor says officers ‘could have ended restraint’ of George Floyd – video

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Derek Chauvin’s police supervisor, Sgt David Pleoger, has said there was no justification for the officer keeping a knee on George Floyd’s neck for nine minutes. Ploeger arrived at the scene shortly after Floyd was taken away by ambulance, said that Chauvin and other officers holding down the 46-year-old Black man should have stopped using force once Floyd stopped resisting. 'When Mr Floyd was no longer offering up any resistance to the officers they could have ended their restraint,' he said

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Chauvin’s supervisor says there was no justification to keep knee on George Floyd’s neck

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Sgt David Pleoger tells trial that Chauvin and the other officers should have stopped using force once Floyd stopped resisting

Derek Chauvin’s police supervisor has told his murder trial that there was no justification for the officer to keep his knee on George Floyd’s neck for nine minutes.

Sgt David Pleoger, who arrived at the scene shortly after Floyd was taken away by ambulance, said that Chauvin and other officers holding down the 46-year-old Black man should have stopped using force once Floyd stopped resisting.

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George Floyd’s girlfriend testifies through tears about opioid addiction – video

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George Floyd’s girlfriend told the Derek Chauvin murder trial that the couple shared an addiction to opioid painkillers that they struggled to overcome in the weeks before his death.

Courteney Ross described meeting the man she called 'Floyd', but the bulk of her testimony on the fourth day of the trial focused on the pair’s opioid use

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