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Why were Chauvin convicted and other policemen not?

2021-04-22T23:34:42.561Z


These are the reasons why the case against Derek Chauvin was different from other cases of homicide at the hands of the police.


What future awaits Derek Chauvin?

0:46

(CNN) -

When police officers kill a person, they are rarely charged with a crime.

It's even rarer for a jury to convict an officer of murder.

So how was Derek Chauvin's case different?

From the beginning, George Floyd's death on May 25, 2020 was a unique case of police homicide in a sea of ​​disturbing police killings.

It was captured on clear and up-close video by passersby and police body cameras.

It lasted more than 9 minutes instead of a few seconds.

Law enforcement officials from across the country joined in denouncing his actions as excessive.

And what makes it even more disturbing is Chauvin's unflappable facial expressions and body language throughout.

George Floyd's brother reacts to Chauvin's verdict 2:09

The combination of these factors caused people around the world to take to the streets in protest and frustration, and renowned lawyers and medical experts to join Minnesota prosecutors in the case.

And in court, prosecutors repeatedly highlighted these four factors to convince the jury to convict Chauvin on two counts of unintentional manslaughter and one accidental manslaughter.

Here's how they did it.

The passerby video

The case against Chauvin begins and ends with the Darnella Frazier video showing Chauvin kneeling on Floyd's neck and back as the 46-year-old black man begged for his life and called his "mom."

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Darnella Frazier, third from the right, videotaped Floyd's murder while staying close to his 9-year-old cousin.

The prosecution called 38 witnesses in their case against Chauvin, but the focal point of it all was the video.

It was played for the jury in its entirety during opening statements, and then played over and over again.

The prosecution screened composite videos that combined Frazier's images with those from police body cameras, and played clips of the video for witnesses, police experts, and medical experts who guided jurors through it. moment by moment.

The moment when the shocking power of the video was most evident was during the testimony of Charles McMillian.

This 61-year-old bystander broke down in tears while testifying after a clip of the video was played to him.

Witnesses say they feel guilty for Floyd's death 3:06

"I feel helpless," she said between sobs.

«I don't have a mother either.

I understand".

Throughout the trial, the message from the prosecution was concise and focused on the video: "Believe what you see."

“This case is exactly what they thought when they first saw it, when they saw that video.

It is exactly that.

They can believe their eyes, ”said Attorney General Steve Schleicher in closing arguments.

It's exactly what you thought.

It is exactly what he saw with his eyes.

It is exactly what he knew, what he felt in his gut.

It is what you now know in your heart.

This was not police work.

This was a homicide.

Young man who recorded Floyd's death reacts to verdict 0:44

The 9 minutes and 29 seconds

Most of those killed by the police are shot: split-second decisions with fatal consequences.

Jurors have long been wary of questioning a police officer's swift decision made under difficult circumstances.

But Chauvin's kneeling on Floyd's neck lasted 9 minutes and 29 seconds in total, which prosecutor Jerry Blackwell called the "three most important numbers in this case."

Prosecution: George Floyd asked for help with his last breath 1:51

The prosecutor broke down the time Chauvin knelt into three sections: 4 minutes and 45 seconds when Floyd yelled that he couldn't breathe;

53 seconds when Floyd had anoxic seizures from lack of oxygen;

and 3 minutes and 51 seconds when Floyd did not react.

"This case is not about split-second decision making," Blackwell said in opening remarks.

Aware of the power of that 9:29 figure, defense attorney Eric Nelson tried to shift the spotlight to other evidence and to Floyd's previous actions in which he resisted attempts by police to put him in the box. patrol car.

«It is not the proper analysis because the 9 minutes and 29 seconds ignores the previous 16 minutes and 59 seconds.

He's totally ignorant of it, ”Nelson said.

Chauvin's facial and body expression

This image, considered "Exhibit 17," was shown in court dozens of times.

Prosecutors relied on Chauvin's particularly disturbing facial expressions and body language as he knelt over Floyd.

The prosecution showed "Exhibit 17" dozens of times in court, a still image of Chauvin on Floyd's neck taken from Frazier's video.

In the picture, Chauvin has a disinterested look, his sunglasses are on top of his head, and his hand rests in his pocket.

He seems totally unconcerned by the despair and agony beneath him.

  • Derek Chauvin will remain in a segregated maximum security unit in prison, while awaiting sentencing

"They've seen the photo, they've seen the body language," Schleicher said in closing statement.

"You can learn a lot about someone by looking at their body language."

Derek Chauvin's reaction to the 1:17 verdict

Chauvin's defense tried to counter this point by cross-examining Minneapolis Police Sgt. Ker Yang, Crisis Intervention Training Coordinator.

Yang said officers are trained to appear confident, stay calm and avoid gaze or eye contact.

However, the prosecution returned to the image again and again.

In closing arguments, jurors were shown a close-up of Chauvin's face, then zoomed out to reveal Floyd's pained face pinned underneath him.

The contrast was clear.

"This was not the face of fear or worry or concern," Blackwell said of Chauvin.

Police testimony against you

Chauvin's actions not only infuriated the public, they drew condemnation from his own ranks and led to a stunning perforation of the so-called "blue wall" of silence.

The Minneapolis Police Department fired Chauvin and the three colleagues who helped restrain Floyd the day after his death.

And in court, a number of police training experts and supervisors testified against him.

Among them were several who knew Chauvin personally.

In particular, Chief Medaria Arradondo flatly rejected Chauvin's actions and the use of force as contrary to department policy.

"Once there was no resistance and clearly when Mr. Floyd was no longer responding and was even immobile, continuing to apply that level of force to a person who is face down, handcuffed behind the back ... that is by no means something let it be part of politics, ”the police chief told the jury.

"It is not part of our training, and certainly not part of our ethics or our values."

Black Lives Matter is a historical process, specialist 1:38

Additionally, Chauvin's immediate supervisor criticized Chauvin's use of force, and the department's chief homicide detective said that kneeling over Floyd was "totally unnecessary."

During the selection of the jury, members of the jury generally expressed some support for the police.

Due to these intra-police criticisms, prosecutors were able to tell the jury that convicting Chauvin was one way to show that support.

“This is not an accusation against the police.

It is an accusation in favor of the police, ”said Schleicher in closing arguments.

"There is nothing worse for a good cop than a bad cop."

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In the end, even the largest police union in the country praised the trial as fair.

"Our justice system has functioned as it should, with prosecutors and defense presenting their evidence to the jury, which then deliberated and delivered a verdict," the Fraternal Order of Police said in a statement.

"The trial was fair and due process was followed."

Police Abuse Derek Chauvin Trial

Source: cnnespanol

All news articles on 2021-04-22

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