After nearly three weeks of testimony, the defense rested its case Thursday in the murder trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin for the killing of George Floyd in south Minneapolis on May 25, 2020. Chauvin is charged with second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. Jury selection in the trial began March 8, with opening statements on March 29. Three other fired officers who assisted in Floyd's 2020 arrest — J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao — are scheduled to be tried in August on charges of aiding and abetting murder and manslaughter.
Closing arguments are slated for Monday, after which the jury will begin deliberating. Here's a recap of each day's testimony in the trial. You can watch a replay of the full proceedings from each day here.
Monday, March 29
- The morning began with nearly hourlong opening remarks by special prosecutor Jerry Blackwell, who walked the jurors through Floyd's death and said Chauvin violated the oath he took as a police officer. "You will learn that on May 25, 2020, Mr. Derek Chauvin betrayed this badge when he used excessive and unreasonable force upon the body of Mr. George Floyd, that he put his knee upon his neck and his back, grinding and crushing him until the very breath, no, ladies and gentlemen, until the very life was squeezed out of him," Blackwell said.
- In defense attorney Eric Nelson's 20-minute opening statement that followed, he walked the jury through the events of May 25, and explained reasonable doubt, and what can be considered a reasonable use of force by a police officer. "That's what this case is ultimately about: It's about the evidence … It is nothing more than that," Nelson said. There is no political or social cause in this courtroom."
- As required, the prosecution presented its case first. The state called three witnesses today. They were:
1. Jena Scurry, the 911 dispatcher who handled the call that resulted in Chauvin and the other officers responding to the intersection where Floyd was detained. Jena Scurry detailed how she was troubled by seeing on wall-mounted dispatch screens how Floyd's arrest played out on city surveillance cameras. She said she glanced up at the screens and saw a police squad moving "back and forth" as officers dealt with Floyd, then moments later take him to the pavement. Multiple times she looked away and then back to see the same image of the officers keeping Floyd on the pavement. It was then that "something was not right. It was an extended period of time," she said. "It was a gut instinct, now we can be concerned." Scurry said she called a supervisory sergeant and reported what she saw. "I don't know, you can call me a snitch if you want to but we have the cameras up for [squad] 320's call, and … I don't know if they had to use force or not, but they got something out of the back of the squad, and all of them sat on this man, so I don't know if they needed you or not, but they haven't said anything to me yet," the dispatcher is heard by the jury saying in her call to the sergeant.
2. Alisha Oyler, a Speedway employee at 38th and Chicago who witnessed Floyd's arrest and testified that she recorded several brief video clips of Floyd's arrest and turned them over soon after to police. Oyler said under prosecution questioning that she made the videos because "police is always messing with people ... and it's not right."
3. Donald Williams II, a witness at the scene of 38th and Chicago who urged Derek Chauvin to get off Floyd's neck and to check Floyd's pulse. Williams told the court that as a longtime mixed martial arts fighter he was familiar with how Chauvin had Floyd pinned to the pavement. Williams recognized it from his training as a "blood choke." He added it can lead to someone falling unconscious. "You see Floyd fade away like the fish in the bag," he said. "He vocalized that he can't breathe and 'I'm sorry.' His eyes rolled back in his head." As Williams watched the viral video shot by a fellow bystander, he told the court that Chauvin was shifting his weight on purpose repeatedly to tighten the hold on Floyd's neck, what the witness called a "shimmy."
Tuesday, March 30
- Tuesday began with witness Donald Williams II picking up where he left off after telling how he repeatedly pleaded with Chauvin to set Floyd free. Defense attorney Nelson pressed Williams about him growing more angry and threatening the officers at the time. He explained he became irate because the officers "were not listening to anything I was telling him. I felt like I had to speak out for Floyd." He also explained why he called 911 that night: "I called the police on the police…because I believe I witnessed a murder."
- The prosecution then called five new witnesses on Tuesday. They were:
1. Darnella Frazier, the teenager, now 18, who filmed the video seen worldwide of Floyd's death outside Cup Foods. "When I look at George Floyd I look at my dad, I look at my brothers, I look at my cousins, my uncles because they are all Black," she said. "I have a Black father, I have Black brothers, I have Black friends. I look at them and how it could have been one of them. It's been nights I've stayed up apologizing to George Floyd for not doing more and not physically interacting and not saving his life, it's not what I should have done it's what he should have done." Nelson was brief in his cross-examination, crafting his questions to set the scene as becoming increasingly hostile to the point of creating a potential threat to the officers. Frazier agreed with Nelson that bystanders were getting louder and more angry, but she added that she didn't think anyone was ever threatening to Chauvin.
2. Judeah Reynolds, Frazier's 9-year-old cousin who also witnessed Floyd pleading for his life. "I was sad and kind of mad and it felt like it was stopping his breathing and it was hurting him," she said. Defense attorney Eric Nelson did not cross-examination the girl, who was then excused.
3. Alyssa Funari, a witness to Floyd's death who was 17 at the time and began recording with her cell phone. Her previously unseen footage was played in court. "It was difficult because I felt like there wasn't really anything I could do," she said. "As a bystander I was powerless there, and I was failing to do anything."