Nekima Levy Armstrong, a civil rights attorney and activist, says it's "amazing" the Minneapolis police chief and others testified against Chauvin. But she's unsure if the trial will bring reforms.
"When Mr. Floyd was no longer offering up any resistance to the officers, they could have ended the restraint," retired Sgt. David Ploeger told the court on Thursday.
Paramedics who treated George Floyd as he lay motionless in the street, testified at then-officer Derek Chauvin's trial on Thursday. They said Floyd was in cardiac arrest and "limp" when they arrived.
"Even I said to the officer, I said, 'man, he said he can't breathe.' They said, 'if he keep talking, well, he can breathe,'" said Charles McMillian, who testified that he pulled over to observe.
Video footage played in court on Tuesday shows Genevieve Hansen pleading with officers on top of George Floyd for a chance to help him. She asked them to check his pulse.
"My instincts were telling me that something was wrong," said Jena Scurry, who had a view of the interior of the squad car from which George Floyd was dragged. "It was an extended period of time."
The 17-year-old described then-Minneapolis officer Derek Chauvin as "kind of angry," adding that "he was digging his knee into George Floyd's neck" and he threatened bystanders with a can of Mace.
Members of George Floyd's family and legal team, kneeled for 8 minutes and 46 seconds outside the Hennepin County Courthouse just moments before the start of Derek Chauvin's murder trial.
