A SERIES of shocking and disturbing videos that the prosecution said depicted Derek Chauvin “squeezing the life” out of George Floyd ensured the ex-cop’s conviction for his murder.
Chauvin, 45, was found guilty on all three counts of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter by the jury last month after just two days of deliberations.
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Before the verdicts were reached, prosecutor Jerry Blackwell introduced a figurative witness in the trial of Chauvin: “common sense.”
But legal analysts say another metaphorical witness played a starring role in the month-long trial of Chauvin: video footage.
Long before the trial even began last month, the now-infamous bystander footage showing Chauvin kneeling down on Floyd’s neck for nine minutes and 29 seconds has been influencing public opinion about the case.
However, during the more than three weeks of testimony, several new videos were played for the jury – and released to the public – shedding new light on what happened both before and during Floyd’s fatal arrest on May 25, 2020.
Trial begins with new footage of Floyd’s final moments
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On March 30, Chauvin’s trial began will jurors being shown never-before-seen video footage of Floyd pleading with officers during his arrest, telling them: “I’m not a bad guy”.
The disturbing clip showed Chauvin kneeling down on Floyd’s neck for 4 minutes and 45 seconds as Floyd cried out for help, complaining 27 times that he couldn’t breathe.
The officer stayed on Floyd’s neck as he flailed and had seizures for 53 seconds, and then remaining on a non-responsive Floyd for another 3 minutes and 51 seconds, prosecutors said during opening statements.
Much of the video was made up from the footage captured by the body cameras belonging to officers Thomas Lane, J Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao, who were also at the scene of the arrest.
Chauvin’s camera fell to the ground as the arrest unfolded. The footage briefly showed him grabbing Floyd by the neck before the camera falls to the ground.
In Lane’s bodycam footage, Floyd is seen being confronted by police as he begs, “Please don’t shoot me … I just lost my mom.”
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Floyd is then handcuffed and continues to plead with Lane and Kueng, telling them he’s not resisting and “will do anything you tell me to”.
A scuffle breaks out as police try to put Floyd into the back of a patrol vehicle, as he starts crying and resisting, saying he’s claustrophobic and has anxiety.
Chauvin and Thao then arrive on scene as the arrest continues.
The police officers then drag Floyd out of the car and restrain him on the ground.
Floyd can be heard calling out for his mother and telling his family members he loves them as he fights for breath.
Bystanders begin to shout at officers to check Floyd’s pulse and stop restraining him, as he appears to lose consciousness.
Chauvin is hear defending his actions in the footage, saying “that’s one person’s opinion” when bystander Charles McMillian is heard telling him to get off of Floyd’s neck.
“We had to control this guy because he’s a sizable guy. It looks like he’s probably on something,” Chauvin told McMillian as he got into the squad car after Floyd was taken away in an ambulance.
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In the courtroom, prosecutor Jerry Blackwell said: “Mr. Derek Chauvin betrayed this badge when he used excessive and unreasonable force upon the body of Mr. George Floyd.
“That he put his knees 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.”
Defense shows video of Floyd’s other arrest
Defense attorneys for Chauvin showed the jury a video of Floyd’s 2019 arrest where he was “feigning medical distress and swallowing pills.”
In Chauvin’s defense, attorney Eric Nelson argued Floyd’s death was not the result of Chauvin kneeling on him for over nine minutes, but rather, his drug use and health effects.
The footage shows an officer draw his gun on Floyd, who was a passenger in a car, for not following with orders to show his hands.
The officer’s body cam footage shows Floyd saying not to shoot him and the officer saying he wasn’t going to shoot him before drawing his gun out and pulling Floyd out of the car.
Floyd said “I don’t want to be shot” numerous times during the video, with the officer eventually describing Floyd as being “incoherent” but not having witnessed him take any pills.
New footage shows moments before Floyd’s arrest outside Minneapolis store
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Chauvin’s defense also showed surveillance video taken from inside the Cup Foods store the day of Floyd’s death on May 25, 2020, showing what Nelson called a “high” Floyd attempt to use a “fake” $20 bill.
Floyd “appeared high” according to the cashier from Cup Foods, who turned down Floyd’s reportedly counterfeit $20. The cashier added he spoke to Floyd when he first entered the store but he was slow to respond.
“When I asked him if he played baseball, he went on to respond to that but it took him a little long to get to what he would try to say,” the cashier, Christopher Martin, 19, told the jury.
“It would appear that he was high,” the teen added.
Floyd is seen on video shuffling through the store before a friend enters and hands Floyd something that appeared to be a fake bill.
Martin said he had turned down Floyd’s friend earlier that day from using a counterfeit $20 bill.
The teen said that company policy required employees to cover any amount bought by counterfeit goods, but Martin said he didn’t know if the $20 was counterfeit, so he felt that he was “doing him (Floyd) a favor.”
When Martin told his manager, the manager requested Floyd come back to the store before telling another employee to call the cops.
Martin said he wishes he had never taken the $20 because his death could have been avoided.
Street footage taken from a police camera during Floyd’s arrest
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During the trial, jurors were also shown a nearby police camera from the street showing Floyd’s arrest.
The first witness in Chauvin’s trial was City of Minneapolis 911 dispatcher Jena Scurry, who was watching Floyd’s arrest take place in real-time.
Scurry even called her supervisor because she felt what she was watching was not under police protocol.
Video shows hers bird eye view of his arrest, saying she became uneasy when she saw Chauvin’s use of force on Floyd.
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“You can call me a snitch if you want to,” she told the sergeant, who oversaw the officers involved.
“I don’t know if there’s a use of force or not,” she added in the call to the sergeant.
“My instincts were telling me something was wrong,” Scurry, who has worked as a dispatcher for seven years, told the court.