04/01/2021 10:24
Clarín.com
World
Updated 04/01/2021 10:34
On the death of George Floyd there was not only violence but also
cruelty
police on a detainee who was resisting.
On the third day of the trial of former police officer
Derek Chauvin
, the former Minneapolis police officer accused of murdering him almost a year ago, the camera recordings of the other two officers who accompanied him leave no room for doubt.
Chauvin's camera apparently fell to the ground at the time of the arrest.
But in the images that those present on the third day of the trial could see, Floyd's panicked cries are heard: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry", and "I'm claustrophobic", as the agents tried to push him into the back of a police van.
At one point, Floyd moves forward, pulling his upper body out of the vehicle.
The cops finally give in and Floyd thanks them, and then
they take him to the floor, face down and in handcuffs
.
Officer Chauvin's knee immobilizes his neck, another policeman's back, and a third grabs his legs, while they talk quietly about whether he might have used drugs.
The images shown during the trial of police officer Derek Chauvin show the brutality against George Floyd after his arrest on May 25, 2020. Photo: REUTERS
"He wasn't getting out of the car. He was just not following directions," police officer Thomas Lane said according to the recording.
The officer also asked twice if his teammates shouldn't turn him on his side, later pointing out that he believed Floyd was fainting.
Another touched Floyd's wrist to find his pulse and said he couldn't find it.
Other witnesses to the
brutality of the police
officers regret not having intervened to prevent Floyd's death.
At another point in the recordings, Derek Chauvin is heard addressing the witnesses who do not dare to move from the sidewalk: "I had to control this guy, because he has a whole size. And it seems that, probably, he has taken something."
George Floyd
was already dead.
The trauma caused by the death of the African American George Floyd in some of the witnesses of the event marked the hearing this Wednesday in the process that takes place in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
A group of activists holds a vigil in front of the court where the police officer accused of murdering George Floyd is being tried, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in May 2020. Photo: AFP
The first to give his version on Wednesday was Christopher Martin, the 19-year-old employee at the supermarket where Floyd had allegedly paid with a fake $ 20 bill, the event that led to his subsequent encounter with the police.
Martin said he felt "disbelief and guilt" when he saw Chauvin end Floyd's life.
"If I had not received that bill, this could have been avoided," said Martin, who explained that supermarket employees had to replace the counterfeit money they accepted from their own pockets.
That is why, after receiving the ticket, he tried to confront Floyd outside the supermarket but, given the customer's refusal to resolve the situation, a colleague called 911 (emergency phone number).
After Martin took the stand Charles McMillian, a 61-year-old man who witnessed the whole event and who burst into tears when he saw the images of Floyd's death again.
This forced the trial to be interrupted for 10 minutes.
Graffiti against "killer cops" in downtown Minneapolis this Wednesday.
Photo: AFP
McMillan, in
the most emotional testimony
yet, explained that as Chauvin choked Floyd with his knee against his neck, he felt "powerless."
Later, once the ambulance had already taken Floyd's body, McMillian confronted Chauvin: "I don't respect what he just did," to which the former policeman replied: "Okay, this is one person's opinion. ".
Chauvin's defense declined to question McMillian when he finished responding to prosecutors.
An emblematic case
Floyd's death in May 2020 shocked the United States and sparked a wave of racial protests across the country that put then-President Donald Trump's government on the ropes.
Floyd was immobilized on the ground by Chauvin, who for more than nine minutes pressed his neck with his knee while the victim repeatedly complained that he could not breathe.
The former police officer is charged with
second degree murder
,
punishable by up to 40 years in prison
;
murder in the third degree, with a maximum sentence of 25 years, and murder in the second degree, which carries up to 10 years of deprivation of liberty.
However, since he has no criminal record, he could only be sentenced to a maximum of 12 and a half years in prison for the first two charges and 4 years in prison for the third.
Source: AP and La Vanguardia
CB
Look also
"Don't kill me": Other testimonies of the abuse of the agent who killed George Floyd
9 minutes and 29 seconds of agony: the shocking video with which the trial for the murder of George Floyd began
