Jurors retire to decide verdict on Floyd murder
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The jurors who sat quietly off-camera through three weeks of draining testimony in Derek Chauvin’s murder trial over George Floyd’s death moved into the spotlight yesterday, still out of sight but now in control of verdicts awaited by a skittish city.
The jury of six white people and six who are black or multiracial was set for its first full day of deliberations.
They spent just a few hours on their task on Monday after the day was mostly consumed by closing arguments in which prosecutors argued that Chauvin squeezed the life out of Floyd last May.
The defense contended that the now-fired white police officer acted reasonably and that the 46-year-old Floyd died of a heart condition and illegal drug use.
Chauvin, 45, is charged with second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter, all of which require the jury to conclude that his actions were a “substantial causal factor” in Floyd’s death and that his use of force was unreasonable.
The most serious charge carries up to 40 years in prison.
“Use your common sense. Believe your eyes. What you saw, you saw,” prosecutor Steve Schleicher said in closing arguments, referring to the bystander video of Floyd pinned to the pavement with Chauvin’s knee on or close to his neck for up to nine minutes and 29 seconds, as onlookers yelled at the officer to get off.
Chauvin’s attorney Eric Nelson countered by arguing that Chauvin did what any reasonable police officer would have done after finding himself in a “dynamic” and “fluid” situation involving a large man struggling with three officers.
As Nelson began speaking, the now-fired Chauvin removed his face mask in front of the jury for one of the very few times during the trial.
With the case drawing to a close, some stores were boarded up in Minneapolis.
The courthouse was ringed with concrete barriers and razor wire, and National Guard troops were on patrol. Floyd’s death set off sometimes violent protests last spring in the city and across the United States.
The city has also been on edge after the deadly police shooting of a 20-year-old black man, Daunte Wright on April 11.
About 300 protesters marched in the streets outside the courthouse shortly after the jury got the case, with a banner reading, “Justice 4 George Floyd & all stolen lives. The world is watching.”
Prosecutor Jerry Blackwell had the final word on Monday. The prosecutor, who is black, said the questions about the use of force and cause of death are “so simple that a child can understand it.”
“In fact, a child did understand it, when a 9-year-old girl said, ‘Get off of him,’” Blackwell said, referring to a young witness who objected to what she saw.
“That’s how simple it was. ‘Get off of him.’ Common sense.”
Police have certain latitude to use force, and their actions are supposed to be judged according to what a “reasonable officer” in the same situation would do.
Nelson noted that officers who first went to the corner store where Floyd allegedly passed a counterfeit US$20 bill were struggling with Floyd when Chauvin arrived as backup.
The defense attorney also pointed out that the first two officers on the scene were rookies and that police had been told that Floyd might be on drugs.
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