The main defendant in the death of George Floyd was again in trouble this week during his trial.
Police officers and medical experts overwhelmed Derek Chauvin, this white policeman accused of having killed George Floyd by keeping his knee on his neck for nearly ten minutes, in the spring of 2020 in Minneapolis (Minnesota, United States).
READ ALSO>
In Minneapolis, residents condemn Derek Chauvin rather than the police
The former agent listened without flinching to witnesses explain that this procedure was "disproportionate" to the submissive attitude of the African-American forty-something, in violation of the city's police code.
Medaria Arradondo, Chief of Police.
The Minneapolis law enforcement chief said Monday that his former subordinate "violated the rules" and "the values" of the police during the arrest.
Kneeling on the neck of the black forty-something "could be reasonable in the first seconds to control him, but not once he no longer exerted any resistance, and especially not after he had passed out," said this 54 year old black man who came to testify in uniform.
He “vehemently” denied that there was “an appropriate use of force in this situation”.
Anxious to differentiate Chauvin from the 700 police officers under his command, he underlined the “energy, time and resources” devoted to their training.
Jody Stiger, police officer and expert.
Expert in the use of force within the Los Angeles police (California, United States), he estimated Wednesday that Derek Chauvin used disproportionate "lethal force" while George Floyd was lying on his stomach, handcuffed , and showed no resistance.
Morning essentials newsletter
A tour of the news to start the day
Subscribe to the newsletterAll newsletters
"A police officer can only use a level of force proportional to the severity of the crime or the level of resistance of an individual to the police", he explained, while the forty-something was suspected of having wanted to pass a fake 20 dollar bill, or just under 17 euros.
The expert admitted that George Floyd at first "actively resisted" the police, but said he "slowly ceased to resist" and that "the former police should have stopped using force".
For 20 years, he said, police have been trained to seat a suspect on his side or in a seated position when handcuffed.
Martin Tobin, breathing specialist.
This renowned pulmonologist and breathing specialist gave a clear and educational testimony on Thursday about the last minutes of George Floyd's life.
He died from the "low level of oxygen" supplied to his heart while he was lying prone on the asphalt, his hands cuffed, and under the pressure of Derek Chauvin on his back, his neck and its ratings.
"With each breath, he has to fight against the asphalt, he has to fight with the low level of air he sucks in trying to raise the knees of the police" who, them, rest his handcuffed hands on his rib cage , he explained Thursday to the jurors, using photos and sketches.
This "low oxygen level" caused by difficulty in breathing "damaged her brain and caused an arrhythmia which caused her heart to stop."
"This is the moment when life leaves his body," said the expert, commenting on a video clip, spent in slow motion, of the moment when George Floyd expires for the last time, a few minutes before the arrival of the paramedics.
A healthy person "would have died from what Mr. Floyd suffered," he said.
Andrew Baker, the medical examiner.
George Floyd's heart could not bear the violence of the arrest and the pressure of the police on his neck, confirmed the chief of the local forensic services who carried out the autopsy.
Physical strain and pain "will trigger stress hormones, adrenaline will push the heart to beat faster to have more oxygen," he explained.
George Floyd's heart problems (hypertension, partially blocked coronary arteries) and his drug use contributed to his death but were not "direct" causes, he said, contradicting Derek Chauvin's lawyer.
Andrew Baker admitted that methamphetamine increases the heart rate, but a very low dose of the drug has been detected.
He also ruled out the thesis of a malfunction of the lungs while George Floyd was recovering from a Covid-19 infection.