Murder case against ex-cop in Floyd's death goes to jury
MINNEAPOLIS — The murder case against former Officer Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd went to the jury Monday in a city on edge against another round of unrest like the one that erupted last year over the video of the Black man with Chauvin's knee on his neck.
The jury of six white members and six Black or multiracial ones was sent off to begin deliberating after nearly a full day of closing arguments in which prosecutors argued that Chauvin squeezed the life out Floyd last May in a way that even a child knew was wrong.
The defense contended that the now-fired white officer acted reasonably and that the 46-year-old Black man died of an underlying heart condition and illegal drug use.
After closing arguments were done, Judge Peter Cahill rejected a defense request for a mistrial based in part on comments California Rep. Maxine Waters that protesters could get more confrontational if there is no guilty verdict.
The judge told Chauvin's attorney: “Congresswoman Waters may have given you something on appeal that may result in this whole trial being overturned.” He added, “I wish elected officials would stop talking about this case, especially in a manner that is disrespectful to the rule of law and to the judicial branch.”Chauvin, 45, is charged with second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. All three charges require the jury to conclude that Chauvin's actions were a “substantial causal factor” in Floyd's death and that his use of force was unreasonable.The most serious charge carries up to 40 years in prison.“Use your common sense. Believe your eyes. What you saw, you saw,” prosecutor Steve Schleicher said in closing arguments, referring to bystander video of Floyd pinned down on the pavement with Chauvin's knee on or close to his neck for up to 9 minutes, 29 seconds, as bystanders yelled at the officer to get off.Chauvin attorney Eric Nelson countered by arguing that Chauvin did what any “reasonable” police officer would have done after finding himself in a “dynamic” and “fluid” situation involving a large man struggling with three officers.As Nelson began speaking, Chauvin removed his COVID-19 mask in front of the jury for one of the very few times during the trial.The dueling arguments got underway with some stores boarded up with plywood in Minneapolis, the courthouse ringed with concrete barriers and razor wire and National Guard members on patrol. Floyd's death last spring set off protests across the U.S. that at times turned violent.The city has also been on edge in recent days over the police killing of a 20-year-old Black man in a nearby suburb on April 11.Prosecutor Jerry Blackwell had the final word, offering the state's rebuttal argument. The prosecutor, who is Black, said that the questions about the use of force and cause of death are “so simple that a child can understand it.”“In fact, a child did understand it, when the 9-year-old girl said, 'Get off of him,”' Blackwell said, referring to a young witness who objected to what she saw. “That's how simple it was. 'Get off of him.' Common sense.”Under the law, police are given certain latitude to use force, and their actions are supposed to be judged according to what a “reasonable officer” in the same situation would have done — a point the defense stressed repeatedly.Nelson noted that officers who first went to the corner store where Floyd allegedly tried to pass a counterfeit $20 bill already were struggling with Floyd when Chauvin arrived as backup. The attorney also noted that the first two officers on the scene were rookies and that police had been told that Floyd might be on drugs.“A reasonable police officer understands the intensity of the struggle,” Nelson said, saying that Chauvin's body-worn camera and his police badge were knocked off his chest.During the prosecution's argument, Schleicher replayed portions of the bystander video and other footage as he dismissed certain defense theories about Floyd's death as “nonsense,” saying Chauvin killed Floyd by constricting his breathing.Schleicher rejected the drug overdose argument, as well as the contention that police were distracted by hostile onlookers, that Floyd had “superhuman” strength from a state of agitation known as excited delirium, and that he suffered possible carbon monoxide poisoning from auto exhaust.
