Minneapolis:
The police officer accused of murdering George Floyd applied inappropriate “deadly force” when kneeling on his neck for more than nine minutes, an professional told the court in Minneapolis on Wednesday.
Jody Stiger, a use-of-force specialist testifying for the prosecution, was questioned at the trial of Derek Chauvin, the white officer noticed in a phone video kneeling on the neck of Floyd, who was Black.
The harrowing footage of Floyd’s May 25, 2020 arrest touched off protests against racial injustice and police brutality in the United States and about the globe.
Stiger stated that Chauvin’s actions have been “deadly force” due to the fact Floyd “was in the prone position.”
“And the pressure… being caused by (Chauvin’s) body weight could cause positional asphyxia, which could cause death,” Stiger stated, just after getting shown pictures of Chauvin’s actions.
Asked how considerably force was affordable just after Floyd was prone, handcuffed and not resisting, Stiger, a Los Angeles police officer, stated “my opinion was no force should have been used once he was in that position.”
“An officer is only allowed to use a level of force that is proportional to the seriousness of the crime, or the level of resistance,” he stated.
Prosecutors are in search of to prove that Floyd’s death was due to asphyxiation, even though Chauvin’s defense claims it was due to illegal drugs in Floyd’s program.
‘Stay away from the neck’
On Tuesday, Johnny Mercil, the Minneapolis police’s use-of-force coordinator, stated Chauvin kneeling on Floyd’s neck was not an authorized restraint.
“We tell officers to stay away from the neck when possible. And if you’re going to use body weight, to pin it on their shoulder,” Mercil stated.
Chauvin, 45, who was sacked from the police force just after the incident, has pleaded not guilty to charges of murder and manslaughter.
Floyd was arrested on suspicion of passing a counterfeit $20 bill in a nearby retailer.
A paramedic testified final week that Floyd, 46, was currently dead when he arrived on the scene in an ambulance and that Chauvin was nonetheless kneeling on his neck.
Chauvin, who has been in court every single day taking meticulous notes and consulting with his lawyer, faces up to 40 years in prison if convicted of the most severe charge — second-degree murder.
The other 3 former police officers involved in the arrest — Tou Thao, Thomas Lane, and J. Alexander Kueng — are to be attempted separately later this year.
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