Personal Injury
Family Law
Corporate Attorney
Bankruptcy Attorney
Criminal Attorney
Divorce Attorney Blog
News & Blog
The Trial Of Derek Chauvin Begins: Emotional Witnesses Recount George Floyd's Arrest
Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer, is charged with second and third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the death of George Floyd.
The footage of Floyd's arrest and subsequent death sparked protests and rioting in the US and other countries around the world. The fact that Chauvin is white and Floyd was a person of color brought attention to the idea that there has always been biased between the police towards people of color.
Another witness testified that he put a call through to the Minneapolis police department as soon as the incident happened.
"The irony is that I had to call the police on the police. The call was simple. I reported I had just witnessed a murder," Donald Williams said.
Darnella Frazier, who we have to thank for taking the video of Floyd's arrest, also gave an account of what happened.
Frazier's whose photo was not shown during the live transmission because of her age, couldn't hold back the tears as she looked at a photo of Chauvin kneeling on Floyd's neck.
She said she went to Cup Foods with her cousin when she saw the incident. According to her, she saw "a man begging and scared for his life." It was at that moment she brought out her mobile device and started recording.
Other witnesses came out to give an account of the incident. The general theme was they felt distressed and taken aback when watching clips or looking at pictures of the incident. Other witnesses include off-duty Minneapolis firefighter who saw the arrest, George Floyd's former girlfriend, and Police Lieutenant Richard Zimmerman, who spoke against the use of kneeling as restraint tactics.
The trial is expected to continue next week.