The Minneapolis law enforcement chief testified on Monday against Agent Derek Chauvin, on trial for the murder of George Floyd.
Kneeling on the black forty-something's neck "might be reasonable in the first few seconds to control him, but not once he was over the resistance, and especially not after he was passed out," Medaria said. Arradondo on the sixth day of this extraordinary trial.
"It is not part of our policy, of our training and is certainly not in accordance with our ethics, our values", assailed this black man of 54 years, come to testify in uniform.
In June, he carried a virulent charge against white policeman Derek Chauvin and his colleagues, whom he himself fired.
“The tragic death of George Floyd was not due to a training problem (...).
The agents knew what was going on, one of them intentionally caused it, the others failed to prevent it - it was murder, ”he wrote in a statement.
On Monday, he was more hushed, while stressing the importance for the 700 or so officers on duty in Minneapolis to treat "with compassion and dignity" those with whom they interact, including suspects.
He laid great emphasis on the “energy, time and resources” devoted to the training of police officers, and presented the policies in force in his services, including on de-escalation techniques, first aid and the use of strength.
Rare prosecutions
In the United States, police officers who use excessive force are rarely let go by their superiors and, on the contrary, benefit from collective contracts, negotiated by their union, which are very protective.
They are also very rarely prosecuted and even less often found guilty.
On May 25 in Minneapolis, in the north of the United States, four police officers wanted to arrest George Floyd, suspected of having passed a counterfeit 20 dollar bill.
To control him, they handcuffed him and pinned him to the ground.
Derek Chauvin then knelt on his neck and maintained his pressure even after the African American passed out and his pulse became undetectable.
VIDEO.
Who is Derek Chauvin, the police officer accused of the murder of George Floyd?
Derek Chauvin, 45, released on bail, has been on trial for a week for murder.
The trial of his three former colleagues, accused of aiding and abetting murder, is scheduled for August.
He pleads not guilty and ensures, on the one hand, to have followed a procedure in accordance with his training to control a recalcitrant suspect;
on the other, not having caused the death of George Floyd, killed according to him by an overdose.
His first line of defense has already been weakened last week by two former superiors, one of whom deemed "absolutely unnecessary" or "unjustified", the "deadly" force used to challenge George Floyd.
The testimony of Medaria Arradondo deals a new blow to him.
The other argument is based on the presence of fentanyl, a powerful opioid, and methamphetamine, discovered during the autopsy of George Floyd who, however, identifies "neck compression" as the cause of death.
Verdict in late April or early May
As a foretaste of the debate between experts, the prosecution called on Monday morning the emergency doctor who, after half an hour of unsuccessful efforts to revive the African-American, declared him dead.
Bradford Langenfeld estimated that, on the basis of the evidence at his disposal, he had thought that "the lack of oxygen" or "asphyxiation" was "the most likely cause of death" of the forty-something.
Derek Chauvin's attorney, Eric Nelson, asked him if drug use could cause oxygen starvation.
"Yes," replied the doctor.
Mr. Nelson then went on to technical questions on the effects of fentanyl, which makes breathing difficult.
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Jurors will deliver their verdict in late April or early May.
If they are not unanimous, the trial will be declared null and void, and the procedure will have to start from the beginning.
Such a hypothesis arouses strong fears in Minneapolis, which had already flared up after the death of George Floyd.