Prosecution makes its case against Chauvin
Chief Arradondo: âThat is not what we teach.â
What happened
The prosecution in the murder trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin rested this week, after a series of expert witnesses testified that Chauvinâs kneeling on George Floydâs neck violated police procedure and was the primary cause of Floydâs death. Jonathan Rich, a cardiologist, was one of several medical experts who testified that Floyd died from asphyxiation while Chauvin kneeled on his neck for nine and a half minutes. âI can state with a high degree of medical certainty that George Floyd did not die from a primary cardiac event and he did not die from a drug overdose,â said Rich. Hennepin County medical examiner Andrew Baker called Floydâs heart disease and fentanyl use contributing factors but ânot direct causes of Mr. Floydâs death.â The medical testimony followed numerous expert witnessesâincluding eight Minneapolis police officialsâwho called Chauvinâs use of force excessive and a violation of standard procedure. It was âtotally unnecessary,â said Lt. Richard Zimmerman, a 36-year veteran, while Police Chief Medaria Arradondo testified that Chauvin âabsolutelyâ violated police protocol by using force long after the handcuffed Floyd had stopped resisting. âThat is not what we teach,â he said.