Derek Chauvin is on trial for George Floyd’s death

Judge Peter Cahill adjourned proceedings in the trial of Derek Chauvin for the day.

Witness testimony will continue tomorrow morning at 10:30 a.m. ET with Genevieve Hansen, a trained EMT and Minneapolis firefighter.

Hansen took the stand today and testified that she was walking by the scene on May 25, 2020 when she came upon the George Floyd incident.

Prosecutors played video footage that featured Hansen pleading with the officers to check Floyd’s pulse.

She said she should have called 911 “immediately” after arriving on the scene. Hansen said once the ambulance left with Floyd, she stood there on the sidewalk in “disbelief.”

Hansen told prosecutors that she felt “helpless” and was upset about what she saw.

When the prosecutor asked her why she felt helpless, she said, “because there was a man being killed, and I would have… had I had access to a call similar to that, I would have been able to provide medical attention to the best of my abilities and this human was denied that.”

Genevieve Hansen, a trained emergency medical technician (EMT) and Minneapolis firefighter, said she identified herself as a first responder and demanded officers check his pulse when she saw George Floyd on the ground.

Hansen then called 911 to report what she saw. 

Hansen lives within walking distance of Cup Foods and was taking a walk the evening of May 25, 2020. When she approached the corner, she saw the police lights and heard a woman across the street screaming they were killing him.  

She was concerned by what she saw. “He wasn’t moving, and he was cuffed. And three grown men putting all of their weight on somebody is too much,” she said. “The first thing that concerned me was his face was smushed into the ground. Swollen. It appeared swollen to me.” 

She noticed that Floyd had an altered level of consciousness and wasn’t moving despite Derek Chauvin’s knee on his neck. 

Her main focus was how she could gain access to the patient or direct offers to provide treatment, she testified. 

She identified herself as a firefighter to former officer Tou Thao, who said if she was really a firefighter she would know better than to get involved. 

Hansen never saw officers take a pulse, but she could not entirely see all four of them.  

Minneapolis firefighter Genevieve Hansen said that she should have called 911 “immediately” after arriving on the scene.

She said once the ambulance left with George Floyd, she stood there on the sidewalk in “disbelief.”

“I think it all settled in that I wish I would have done that immediately because it was ridiculous that 17… fire station 17 was as close as it was and that they hadn’t been there,” she testified after questions from the prosecution.

Hansen told prosecutors that she felt “helpless” and was upset about what she saw.

When the prosecutor asked her why she felt helpless, she said, “because there was a man being killed, and I would have… had I had access to a call similar to that, I would have been able to provide medical attention to the best of my abilities and this human was denied that.”

Minneapolis firefighter Genevieve Hansen testified that when she came upon the scene, police officers prevented her from helping George Floyd.

Hansen, who is also a licensed EMT, said she identified herself to the officers on the scene. She said that former officer Tou Thao told her not to get involved.

She said that trying to help is “exactly what I should have done.” 

“There was no medical assistance on scene and I got there and I could have given medical assistance. That’s exactly what I should have done,” she said.

Hansen began to get emotional on the stand as she testified about not being able to help Floyd. Asked if the officers’ response that day frustrated her, with tears in her eyes, Hansen choked up as she responded “yes.”

Watch here:

Video Ad Feedback

27eba843-54c9-4848-930a-c4082d0b6fd6.mp4

01:06 - Source: cnn

The next witness to testify is Genevieve Hansen, a firefighter for Minneapolis who was walking by the scene on May 25, 2020 when she came upon the George Floyd incident. She appeared in her firefighter’s uniform in court.

Prior to her questioning, prosecutors played video footage featuring Hansen pleading with the officers that had Floyd in custody to check his pulse.

The prosecution also played a 911 call that Hansen placed that day.

Here’s part of what the jury heard from that call:

The seventh witness was a minor, a friend of the prior witness, who also saw George Floyd’s death.

She told prosecutor Erin Eldridge that she was in court today “for George Floyd.” 

The witness, who is not being publicly named or shown on video by the court because she’s a minor, said she was going to Cup Foods with her friend when they came upon Floyd being restrained by police.  

When they arrived, they “hear George Floyd’s voice yelling for his mom and saying he can’t breathe,” she said.

She gave her phone to her friend to record video of what was going on. 

This witness initially waited in the car and heard yelling. 

When she got out of the car, she saw Floyd unconscious, not moving and former officer Derek Chauvin digging his knee into his neck, she testified.  

None of the bystanders were aggressive or attacking in any way, she said.

“They were just using their voices,” she told the court.  

Former officer Tou Thao was being aggressive to the bystanders and Chauvin got his mace and started shaking it, she said. 

When paramedics arrived, Floyd looked “purple, like he wasn’t getting enough circulation,” she said.

She did not know Floyd was dead, but she had a gut feeling that he was.  

Officers did not try to provide any first aid or medical help before paramedics arrived, she said.   

The defense did not cross examine this witness.

A witness who filmed former officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on George Floyd’s neck was asked about the impact of the May 25, 2020 event. The witness testified that they felt “numb.”

“I kind of just pushed it aside because I didn’t really know how to feel. It was a lot to take in,” the 18-year-old told the court.

An attorney asked the witness if they have been back to Cup Foods, which is located on the corner where Floyd’s encounter with Chauvin and the other officers occurred. The witness said, “I still haven’t been there to this day.”

When the prosecutor asked why the witness hadn’t been back there, the witness said, “I don’t want to be reminded.”

A witness became audibly emotional when being asked about watching the death of George Floyd.

“You could see in his face that he was slowly not being able to breathe. His eyes were rolling back, and at one point, he just kind of sat there, or laid there,” the witness said. 

The witness stopped talking for more than 30 seconds after saying it was difficult to speak about Floyd’s death.

“I was there and, like, technically, I could have did something, but I couldn’t really do anything physically what I wanted to do because the highest power was there at the time.”

The witness said other officers were nearby while former Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on Floyd’s neck. 

“Most of the time, I saw him staring at George. I didn’t really see him take his eyes off of him for the most part,” the witness said about Chauvin. 

Prosecuting attorney Erin Eldridge

The next witness to testify at the Chauvin trial is an 18-year-old woman. She was not shown on camera because she was underage when she witnessed Floyd’s encounter with police on May 25, 2020.

She said she arrived at the scene that day in a car. When she got there, she said she saw the police officers holding George Floyd on the ground. There were bystanders already gathering and asking for the police to “let him up,” the witness said. She also said she heard Floyd say that he couldn’t breathe and asking for his mom.

“I knew initially that there was something wrong, so I started recording” on her phone, the witness said. She said Floyd was “in distress.”

She said that Floyd “looked like he was struggling at first, and he looked distressed, and he looked like he was fighting to breathe.” 

“He was struggling with his ability to breathe. He was focused on trying to breathe,” she added.

She said that when she first arrived Floyd was “vocal” but “he got less vocal.”

“You could tell he was talking with, like, small – smaller and smaller breaths and he would spit a little when he would talk, and he would try and move his head to – because he was uncomfortable,” she said.

She said she became more concerned as he stopped being vocal.

“Because I slowly knew that if they were – if he were to be held down much longer, he wouldn’t live,” the witness testified.

She became emotional on the stand, testifying “there was nothing I could do,” adding, she felt like she failed to help Floyd.

The murder trial of Derek Chauvin is back in session following a lunch break.

Witness testimony will now continue with a third witness who is not seen on camera because of their age.

Earlier today, Hennepin County District Court Judge Peter Cahill said four witnesses would not be shown on camera because they were underage at the time of George Floyd’s death. Those witnesses will appear live in court — so the jury will be able to see them.

The witnesses’ names will also be redacted from the broadcast, although jury members will also hear their names in the court room.

The jury in Derek Chauvin’s trial has heard from five witnesses so far, and they’ve been shown bystander and police footage of George Floyd’s final moments. 

If convicted, Chauvin could face up to 40 years in prison for second-degree murder, up to 25 years for third-degree murder, and up to 10 years for second-degree manslaughter. The charges are to be considered separate, so Chauvin could be convicted of all, some or none of them.

While the jurors are unnamed and unseen on camera, we do know basic details about them.

Here’s what we know about the jury:

Read more about about the jury here.

The jury just heard from a 9-year-old witness who was on the scene when the George Floyd incident took place.

The girl said she saw an officer put a knee on the neck of Floyd, and that the officer kept his knee on him after ambulance personnel asked “him nicely to get off of him.” The witness said they had to get the officer off of Floyd.

The defense declined to cross examine the 9-year-old witness.

She’s the second of at least four witnesses who will not be shown on the television broadcast. Hennepin County District Court Judge Peter Cahill said the four witnesses will not be shown on camera because of their ages. The witnesses will appear live in court — so the jury will be able to see them.

The witnesses’ names will also be redacted from the broadcast, although jury members will hear their names in the court room. The girl’s 18-year-old cousin testified before her.

Eyewitness Darnella Frazier, who recorded video of George Floyd’s death, said that witnessing his death has made her think of her own relatives and reflect on their lives. 

Frazier then became audibly emotional. 

“It’s been nights I’ve stayed up apologizing and apologizing to George Floyd for not doing more and not physically interacting and not saving his life. But it’s like it’s not what I should have done. It’s what he should have done,” she said, referring to former police officer Derek Chauvin. 

Frazier is being identified only by her first name in court, but she has been internationally recognized for her decision to record and share the video. She’s the first of at least four witnesses who will not be shown on the television broadcast because they were minors at the time of the incident.

Prosecuting attorney Jerry Blackwell

Eyewitness Darnella Frazier, the teenager who took the bystander video, was asked today to describe what Derek Chauvin did in response to pleading from the crowd of bystanders that he get off George Floyd.

“He just stared at us, looked at us. He had like this cold look, heartless. He didn’t care. It seemed as if he didn’t care what we were saying. It didn’t change anything he was doing,” she said. 

Asked if it appeared to her that Chauvin kneeled harder on Floyd in response, Frazier said, “yes.”

Frazier is being identified only by her first name in court, but she has been internationally recognized for her decision to record and share the video.

The murder trial of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis officer charged in the death of George Floyd, is back in session following a short break.

The jury has heard from two witnesses today, including Darnella Frazier who was walking by the scene and shot video. The witness was not shown on camera because she was a minor when the Floyd incident occurred. Her testimony has now resumed.

Earlier this morning, a professional mixed martial arts fighter who also witnessed Floyd’s death testified that he called 911 after watching Chauvin’s actions.

“I called the police on the police,” Donald Wynn Williams II testified today. “I believed I witnessed a murder.”

Williams, whose testimony began Monday afternoon and continued Tuesday morning, was the third witness in Chauvin’s criminal trial. He was one of the most vocal bystanders in the widely seen video of Floyd’s final moments, repeatedly pleading for Chauvin to get off Floyd and calling him a “bum” and a “tough guy.”

Defense attorney Eric Nelson, left, and former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, right, listen during Chauvin's trial on March 30.

Darnella Frazier, an 18-year-old witness who filmed George Floyd’s death on May 25, 2020, told the court she felt threatened by former police officer Derek Chauvin.

Frazier, who was 17 at the time of the incident, testified that she and her cousin were walking past the scene at Cup Foods that day and were part of the crowd who witnessed Floyd’s death and the circumstances around it.

“I heard George Floyd saying — I can’t breathe. Please. Get off me. I can’t breathe. He cried for his mom… It seemed like he knew — seemed like he knew it was over for him,” she testified.

She went on to describe how a firefighter asked Chauvin if she could check Floyd’s pulse but Chauvin “remained kneeling on his neck, and she asked multiple times, not just once.”

Asked why no one in the crowd did anything or tried to get close, Frazier said she felt threatened as the officers “were quick to pull out mace.” 

“They put their hand on their mace. I can’t remember if they actually pointed it at us but they definitely put their hand on the mace and we all backed back.” 

Asked specifically if she felt threatened by Chauvin, she said:

“That’s why I felt threatened. I don’t understand why the mace was even needed at all,” Frazier added.

Judge Peter Cahill just announced the court is taking a break until 11:15 a.m. local time (12:15 p.m. ET) in the the second day of testimony in the trial of Derek Chauvin.

The jury was hearing from an 18-year-old witness who saw George Floyd’s death. She’s the first of at least four witnesses who will not be shown on the television broadcast because they were minors at the time of the incident.

We’re hearing from an 18-year-old witness right now at the murder trial of Derek Chauvin. She’s the first of at least four witnesses who will not be shown on the television broadcast.

Hennepin County District Court Judge Peter Cahill said the next four witnesses will not be shown on camera because of their ages. The witnesses will appear live in court — so the jury will be able to see them.

The witnesses’ names will also be redacted from the broadcast, although jury members will also hear their names in the court room.

The television broadcast shows a split screen of the the defense team and the prosecutor who is questioning the witnesses. Previous on-camera witnesses were seen in a split screen with the attorney who was asking the questions.

Witness testimony continues today in the trial of former Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin, who’s been charged in the death of George Floyd. 

Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, died in May 2020 after Chauvin placed his knee on Floyd’s neck while he pleaded, “I can’t breathe.”

Hearing witnesses testify and dissect second-by-second accounts of the circumstances surrounding Floyd’s death can be tough.

Here are some resources that may help:

You can contact any of the organizations above to find peer groups and other group counseling services. These organizations often have affiliates in cities that host group meetings. They offer coping mechanisms to deal with stress, depression, anxiety and other mental health conditions.

It’s always important to speak to someone and not feel that you’re facing this alone.

You can find more CNN resources that may help here.

Prosecuting attorney Jerry Blackwell

The next witness is an 18-year-old student. Her identity is being kept secret because she was a minor on May 25, 2020, when she witnessed George Floyd’s death.

The woman testified that she and her cousin were walking past the scene at Cup Foods that day.

The prosecution played video of the witness and her cousin walking past the scene where former officer Derek Chauvin had Floyd pinned on the ground.

She said she saw, “a man terrified, scared, begging for his life”

“It wasn’t right. He was suffering. He was in pain,” she added. She testified that she came to know later that the man on the ground was George Floyd

Asked what she did next, the witness said, “I pulled out my phone” and began “recording, capturing what I was seeing”

She said, “I heard George Floyd saying — I can’t breathe. Please. Get off me. I can’t breathe. He cried for his mom… It seemed like he knew — seemed like he knew it was over for him.”

She was then shown a photo of Chauvin and asked to identify him. “This is the officer that was kneeling on George Floyd’s neck,” she said.

Note: the judge told the jury that the next four witnesses are going to be persons who, because of their age, will not be in the video broadcast of the trial.

Defense attorney Eric Nelson

Defense cross-examination of eyewitness Donald Williams grew tense as Chauvin’s attorney tried to get Williams to admit that he grew “angrier” at the scene that day.

Williams said that while he admits he was angry, he claims he acted “controlled” and “professional.”

The defense questioned Williams about a number of statements he made to the officers during the Floyd incident that were captured on video.

The defense also referenced several other statements that Williams can be heard on video directing at police, including some that contained profanity. The witness admitted to making the comments on the stand.

Later in the questioning, Chauvin’s attorney asked Williams about a statement he made during a 911 call where, according to the defense, he had told one of the officers at the scene he was “hoping he would shoot himself.” 

“I didn’t say I hope he’s going to shoot himself,” Williams clarified. “I said within the next two years, you will shoot yourself in your head for what you did.” 

Williams continued: “I didn’t say hope. I don’t hope death on anyone. The bible doesn’t allow that.” 

Donald Wynn Williams II, an eyewitness at the scene of the incident, testified today that after George Floyd was put into an ambulance he called 911 because “I believe I witnessed a murder.”

“I felt the need to call the police on the police,” Williams continued.

Asked why he didn’t speak to the officers already on the scene, Williams said, he felt they were involved in the incident.

Williams’ 911 call from that day was played for the jury.

On tape, Williams can be heard telling the 911 operator that an officer “is trying to kill this citizens” in front of the Cup Foods store.

“He had his knee on the dude’s neck the whole time,” Williams said.

He told the 911 operator that Floyd “stopped breathing,” adding “he wasn’t resisting arrest or nothing. He was in handcuffs.”

“I don’t know if he is dead for sure. But he was non-responsive when the ambulance came and got him,” Williams said.

Williams appeared to become emotional on the witness stand as the tape played, at one point picking up a tissue to wipe his eyes.

The second day of Derek Chauvin’s trial in George Floyd’s death just began. There will be further questioning of a professional mixed martial arts fighter who stumbled onto the scene of the 46-year-old Black man’s final moments.

Donald Wynn Williams II began testifying Monday as the third witness in the trial. Relying on his own MMA experience, he said that Chauvin performed a “blood choke” on Floyd and adjusted his positioning several times to maintain pressure on Floyd’s neck.

He testified he watched Floyd gasp for air, his eyes roll to the back of his head and blood start to come out of his nose.

His testimony was abruptly cut off Monday because of a technological issue.

The opening statements in Chauvin’s trial yesterday came 10 months after Floyd’s death launched a summer of protest, unrest and a societal reckoning with America’s past and present of anti-Black racism and aggressive policing.

Chauvin, 45, has pleaded not guilty to second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter charges.

The trial of former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin for the death of George Floyd is set to resume this morning. 

We expect the jury to enter the courtroom between 10:15 a.m ET and 10:30 a.m. ET (9:15-9:30am local) to continue receiving testimony. 

Direct examination of the third witness, Donald Williams II, will continue today. His testimony was abruptly cut off Monday because of a technological issue.

More on the trial: Chauvin knelt on 46-year-old Floyd’s neck May 25 as Floyd told Chauvin and three other officers he couldn’t breathe.

Chauvin, 45, has pleaded not guilty to second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter charges.

This is the 14th day of the trial and the second day of testimony.

A poster with George Floyd's picture hangs from a security fence outside the Hennepin County Government Center on March 30 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

The murder trial of former Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin will continue today with further questioning of witnesses.

Chauvin faces of second-degree unintentional murder, second-degree manslaughter and third-degree murder for the May 2020 death of George Floyd.

Here’s a recap of the case that spurred widespread protests against police brutality and racism:

Philonise Floyd, brother of George Floyd, speaks alongside attorney Ben Crump, left, and Brandon Williams, nephew of George Floyd, right, during a news conference outside the Hennepin County Government Center on March 29 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

George Floyd’s brother Philonise Floyd said the former Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin’s legal defense team is “trying to assassinate” his brother’s character.

Describing the first day of Chauvin’s trial as an “emotional roller coaster,” Floyd said he didn’t know that the former police officer knelt on his brother for nine minutes and 29 seconds.

“The video, every time I watched it, I only just hear eight minutes and 46 seconds. I never try to watch the entire video. It’s not something that you want to watch — your brother tortured and screaming and asking for our mom and saying ‘tell my kids I love them. I can’t breathe.’”

He added:

“To everybody else, it was a case and a cause. To me, it was my brother. Somebody that I grew up with — eating with, sleeping in the same bed with, going fishing with. Just watching him dance with my mother. Those are the things that I think about when I think about my brother. He was a protector. He was someone who we can go to when we were in trouble and in need of anything,” he said Tuesday.

WATCH:

Video Ad Feedback

c6f45b55-34f4-439a-a437-f46e6cb3cf0e.mp4

02:07 - Source: cnn

Only one member of George Floyd’s family will be allowed to attend the trial in a Minneapolis courtroom because of Covid-19 pandemic restrictions, a judge ruled in the case.

The same restriction applies to the family of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis Police officer charged with second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in Floyd’s death. For each family, a different family member can rotate through that in-court position with appropriate credentials, Hennepin County District Court Judge Peter Cahill wrote in the ruling.

Floyd family attorneys Benjamin Crump and Antonio Romanucci said the family was disappointed by the ruling.

Read more about the judge’s ruling here.

Defense attorney Eric Nelson, left, and former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin listen during pre-trial motions on March 29 in the trial of Chauvin at Hennepin County Courthouse in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Jurors heard opening statements and testimony from three prosecution witnesses during the first day of former Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin’s trial in the death of George Floyd.

If you’re just reading in, here’s what you need to know about the first trial day:

Reporting from CNN’s Eric Levenson and Aaron Cooper contributed to this post.

HLN’s Mike Galanos and CNN’s Omar Jimenez recap day 1 of the trial and offer a preview of what is to come today:

Witness Donald Wynn Williams II will resume his testimony today after a “major technical glitch” interrupted a video feed to other rooms in the courthouse where family members were watching.

Williams testified yesterday that he witnessed George Floyd’s death, and that he saw Chauvin use a move called a “blood choke.”

He testified that he has experience with chokeholds. Williams said he was a high school and college wrestler who pursued mixed martial arts, and had also worked with police officers in his security job. He said he trained with them in mixed martial arts at a gym.  

Williams, who was shown a bystander video during his testimony, said it appeared that Chauvin was trying to “shimmy” his knee to make the hold tighter.

He testified that he watched Floyd gasping for air, his eyes roll to the back of his head, and blood start to come out of his nose.