The police did not strangle George Floyd: the lawyer released an unexpected video
In the footage presented in court, you can see that the policeman's knee rests not on Floyd's neck, as was previously believed, but on his back, reports "Correspondent".
In the United States, the lawyer of police officer Derek Chauvin, who is accused of the death of African American George Floyd, presented a new video in court. The footage reveals that the officer did not actually choke Floyd with his knee, as previously thought.
The video presented in court was filmed with a chest camera of one of the police officers involved in the arrest of Floyd. In the footage, you can see that the policeman's knee rests not on Floyd's neck, as was previously believed, but on his back.
It is reported that this does not change the results of the forensic examination, according to which the cause of Floyd's death was hypoxia. An independent medical expert at the trial suggested that the strangulation could have occurred due to the fact that Floyd used drugs that were found in his blood.
The previously released video, taken by Minneapolis police during the arrest of George Floyd on May 25, 2020, was taken from a different angle. From this angle, it looked like Chauvin's knee was on Floyd's neck. When Floyd died after his arrest, it caused an outbreak of mass protests in various cities of the United States, accompanied by riots and clashes with the police. The protesters demanded a cut in police funding and accused the cops of racism.
The nine-plus minutes during which Chauvin's knee allegedly pressed Floyd's neck has not yet been called into question due to the large amount of video footage - both bystanders and police body cameras - showing the cop using this restraining technique, he writes. Forbes... But now everything looks different.
"The most important numbers you'll hear in this trial are nine, two, nine," Jerry Blackwell, one of the state's attorneys, said during opening arguments last week, focusing on 9 minutes and 29 seconds, during in which Chauvin knelt on Floyd's neck. However, it has now become apparent that the cop's knee was on the man's back for at least part of that time.
On the subject: Minneapolis government to pay $ 27 million to family of African American killed by police
Chauvin's lead attorney Eric Nelson on April 5 during the cross-examination of Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo brought up the concept of "camera perspective shifting" and included two roughly 30-second clips of Chauvin holding Floyd back as the paramedics arrived: a random video from teenager Darnella Fraser and body camera footage of former officer Alexander Kueng.
Nelson then emphasized that while in the video recorded by Fraser it appears that Chauvin's knee was on Floyd's neck, the knee appeared to be on the detainee's shoulder blade when viewed from a different angle.
“Would you agree that from a different perspective, Officer Chauvin’s knee was more on Mr. Floyd’s shoulder blade?” Nelson asked Arradondo.
“Yes,” Arradondo replied. However, the prosecution emphasized that the video depicts only one specific moment “at the time when the ambulance had already arrived and shortly before they loaded Mr. Floyd onto the gurney.”
Arradondo also stressed that for the first time he sees the situation from a different angle, all previously available videos, he said, showed a policeman's knee on the neck.
“This is the first time I’ve seen the defendant’s knee at the scapula area,” Arradondo said.
BREAKING: Chief of Police admits Chauvin knee may have been on George Floyd's shoulder blade after shown body cam video from another perspective side-by-side pic.twitter.com/xam9FwKqY2
- Jack Posobiec (@JackPosobiec) April 5, 2021
Arradondo previously testified that Chauvin violated Minneapolis Police Department regulations by restraining Floyd. According to the police chief, the department at the time allowed officers to use a neck restraint, but "in a deliberate manner" (the restraint should not cause the suspect to lose consciousness), with "light to moderate" pressure. Arradondo said he doesn't believe Chauvin adhered to the policy "in any way" and said officers should stop such tackles once a suspect is under control.
You may be interested in: top New York news, stories of our immigrants and helpful tips about life in the Big Apple - read it all on ForumDaily New York
“Initially it’s smart to try to get him under control with this technique, but it’s in the first few seconds,” Arradondo previously said. “But once there was no longer any resistance, and obviously once Floyd stopped responding and wasn’t even moving, continuing to use that level of force on a man handcuffed behind his back is in no way within the policy.”
As ForumDaily wrote earlier:
- On May 27, George Floyd, an African American from Minneapolis, died after a Minneapolis police officer strangled him with a knee. Officer Derek Chauvin was fired and charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter; three other officers also lost their jobs. Protests and riots subsequently eruptedand in Minneapolis and across the country.
- The Minnesota state governor said protests over the death of African-American George Floyd, spanning dozens of US cities, are already not related to murder, but provoked by visiting radicals.
- Protests in Minneapolis sharply intensified in the evening of May 27when city police took action in response to looted and burned shops in the city, as well as fatal shooting at a protest venue.
- May 31 truck drove into a crowd of protesters in Minneapolis (Minnesota). At the wheel of a car was a US citizen, presumably of Ukrainian origin, Bogdan Vechirko. He was arrested, but on June 2 released from custody awaiting further investigation. Eventually no charges were brought against him.
- About 40 cities, including Los Angeles, Miami, Detroit, and Philadelphia, banned street demonstrations after dark. Texas and Virginia Governors introduced a state of emergency.
- In connection with protests in US cities embassies of Ukraine and Russia asked their citizenslocated in the United States, maintain order and avoid crowds wherever possible and comply with security measures.
- June 1, Donald Trump enacted the law of 1807, allowing him send riot troops in connection with the death of George Floyd.
- According to the official autopsy of George Floyd, his death was caused by mechanical asphyxia and should be considered violent.
- On June 4, former Minneapolis police officers identified as accomplices in the murder of George Floyd during his arrest, taken into custody.
Read also on ForumDaily:
How Police Budget Cuts Affect US Urban Crime
Trump, Biden, doctors and George Floyd: who would you call the 'man of 2020'
'Racist' cheese, cream and sauce: how US protests are changing the way Americans live
Georgia to create a city just for African Americans
Subscribe to ForumDaily on Google NewsDo you want more important and interesting news about life in the USA and immigration to America? — support us donate! Also subscribe to our page Facebook. Select the “Priority in display” option and read us first. Also, don't forget to subscribe to our РєР ° РЅР ° Р »РІ Telegram and Instagram- there is a lot of interesting things there. And join thousands of readers ForumDaily New York — there you will find a lot of interesting and positive information about life in the metropolis.