Derek Chauvin Defense Presents Opening Arguments in Trial Over George Floyd Death
Published Date: 3/29/2021
Source: Bloomberg Quicktake: Now
The former Minneapolis police officer charged with killing George Floyd went on trial Monday, with prosecutors promptly showing the jury the video of Derek Chauvin pressing his knee on the Black man's neck for several minutes as onlookers yelled at Chauvin to get off and Floyd gasped that he couldn't breathe. In opening statements, prosecutor Jerry Blackwell told the jury that the number to remember was 9 minutes, 29 seconds — the amount of time Chauvin had Floyd pinned to the pavement with his knee last May. Chauvin attorney Eric Nelson countered by disputing that Chauvin was to blame for Floyd's death. Floyd was resisting arrest, and Chauvin arrived to assist other officers who were struggling to get Floyd into a squad car as the crowd around them grew larger and more hostile, Nelson said. "There is no political or social cause in this courtroom," Nelson said. "But the evidence is far greater than 9 minutes and 29 seconds." He said Floyd's drug use combined with his heart disease and high blood pressure, as well as the adrenaline flowing through his body, to cause his death from a heart rhythm disturbance. The medical examiner's autopsy noted fentanyl and methamphetamine in Floyd's system but listed his cause of death as "cardiopulmonary arrest, complicating law enforcement subdual, restraint, and neck compression." Chauvin, 45, is charged with unintentional second-degree murder, third-degree murder and manslaughter. Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/2TwO8Gm Bloomberg Quicktake brings you live global news and original shows spanning business, technology, politics and culture. Make sense of the stories changing your business and your world. To watch complete coverage on Bloomberg Quicktake 24/7, visit http://www.bloomberg.com/qt/live, or watch on Apple TV, Roku, Samsung Smart TV, Fire TV and Android TV on the Bloomberg app. Have a story to tell? Fill out this survey for a chance to have it featured on Bloomberg Quicktake: https://cor.us/surveys/27AF30 Connect with us on… YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/Bloomberg Breaking News on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/BloombergQuickTakeNews Twitter: https://twitter.com/quicktake Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/quicktake Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/quicktake