The world saw George Floyd’s final minutes. Now it will see whether he gets justice.

[Rogue Valley]

The world saw George Floyd’s final minutes. Now it will see whether he gets justice.

3/29/21
With the beginning of the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin on charges of killing George Floyd, remember that Chauvin is the man on trial, not Floyd. Remember that the only reason police approached Floyd in the first place was that they suspected him of a minor, nonviolent offense. Remember Floyd’s desperate pleas that he couldn’t breathe, that “they’re going to kill me,” that he was dying. Remember — as if anyone could forget — that the U.S. criminal justice system is on trial as well. And remember that, quite literally, the whole world is watching. The killing of Floyd last May 25 was one of those rare events that divides history into “before” and “after.” The video of his final moments was hardly the first to capture shocking and unjustifiable treatment of an African American by the police. But it was the one that revolutionized American society’s thinking about race and justice. Millions of people across the nation and the globe poured into the streets. Opening arguments in Chauvin’s trial on charges of second- and third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter narrowed the focus to the tragic event itself. For 9 minutes and 29 seconds, prosecutor Jerry W. Blackwell told the jury, Chauvin knelt on Floyd’s neck, “grinding and crushing him until the very breath — no, ladies and gentlemen, the very life — was squeezed out of him.”

Blackwell played for the jury a cellphone video of Floyd’s death. I’ve forced myself to watch it many times, but to me the clip is still almost unbearable. Chauvin has one hand in his pocket, in a posture of what looks like nonchalance, as he kneels on Floyd’s neck for 4 minutes and 45 seconds while Floyd tells him 27 times that he can’t breathe, calls out for his mother and begs for air, his repeated use of “please” a horrifying note of politeness in a scene of awful violence. Then Floyd falls silent. But for an additional 4 minutes and 44 seconds, Chauvin keeps his knee on Floyd’s neck — even after other officers tell him they can no longer detect Floyd’s pulse, even after an ambulance crew arrives. The opening statements made clear that much will be made of Floyd’s medical cause of death. Defense attorney Nelson indicated he will claim that Floyd died of an overdose of opioids. We can expect testimony from dueling experts on the question. We should know by now — after so many travesties, including George Zimmerman’s acquittal for killing Trayvon Martin — that it is all too possible to convince juries to blame the victim if the victim is a Black man. It is not possible, however, to erase the video of Floyd’s final minutes. The world has seen it; and it will never, ever be unseen.

To all who have watched the horrific video, it is clear that a man is dying. I myself have heard that plaintive desperate call for one's mother. It is a memory that never goes away.

It has been fairly clear to me that George Floyd died on 25 May 2020 principally because he crossed paths that fateful day with MPD Officer Derek Chauvin.

Try as they might to smear Floyd and put his life on trial, the defense simply has no answer for the 9:29 span that Officer Chauvin maintained the pressure on Floyd's neck and ignored Floyd's "I can't breathe" 27 times.

Even after being told no pulse could be detected, the brutal Chauvin remained immobile on George Floyd's neck. There is simply no justification for such a callus and cold-hearted determination to dominate.

 

[mrjurrs]

The world saw George Floyd’s final minutes. Now it will see whether he gets justice.

To all who have watched the horrific video, it is clear that a man is dying. I myself have heard that plaintive desperate call for one's mother. It is a memory that never goes away.

It has been fairly clear to me that George Floyd died on 25 May 2020 principally because he crossed paths that fateful day with MPD Officer Derek Chauvin.

Try as they might to smear Floyd and put his life on trial, the defense simply has no answer for the 9:29 span that Officer Chauvin maintained the pressure on Floyd's neck and ignored Floyd's "I can't breathe" 27 times.

Even after being told no pulse could be detected, the brutal Chauvin remained immobile on George Floyd's neck. There is simply no justification for such a callus and cold-hearted determination to dominate.

Originally they wanted to follow up on a $20 property crime. Eventually they played judge, jury and executioners. That the other officers are facing lesser charges pisses me off.

 

[Manc Skipper]

Even if Floyd was under the influence, he didn't deserve a death sentence.