Transcripts For CNNW CNN Newsroom With Brianna Keilar 202103

Hearing from the gentleman who was behind the cashier at cup foods, his name is Christopher Martin. George floyd allegedly paid for some items with a counterfeit 20 bill. When martin reported it to the manager, the manager escalated the whole thing to police. Martin testified that he in some ways feels responsible for what happened to george floyd. I saw you standing there with your hands on your head for a while, correct . Correct. What was going on through your mind . Disbelief and guilt. Why guilt . If i would have just not taken the bill, this could have been avoided. Cnns omar jimenez is outside the courthouse. We keep hearing from various witnesses saying they feel this guilt, i failed him, in acting or not acting that day. Reporter yeah, brooke, what is abundantly clear, even after more than ten months, these witnesses still feel like what happened is still very much in their hearts and minds, and are not able to get past it, and in some cases they are questioning whether they should have done things differently, as we heard from Christopher Martin. His testimony as come as part of a day thats been dominated by new video and context around that initial call to police on george floyd about a counterphi 20 bill. We saw from Surveillance Video Christopher Martin going back and forth about that decision. The policy said if its fake and you accept it, you have to pay it out of your own paycheck. He reconsidered, and then this chain of events set off, eventually led to what hes Still Holding on to. I should also note that Christopher Martin is 19yearold. Hes the fifth teenager or younger to testify out of ten witnesses in total as part of this trial just three days in. After martin exited the stand, a man by the name of christopher belfry took the stand. He actually pulled behind the vehicle that Police Officers first interacted in, and he was startled when an officer pulled out his gun, so he pulled out his phone and started filming. I noticed. Two officers coming. They approached the vehicle in front of me. One officer drew a handgun, and opened the door, pointed the gun at whoever was in the drivers seat. It startled me, you know, when i seen the officer raise his gun. Let me just i started recording. Reporter he eventually said that he stopped recording altogether, because the officers kept staring at him, and he didnt want any problems. But he did witness what those other bystanders witnessed, floyd being dragged over to that side of the street and being pinned under the knee of Derek Chauvin. The defense chose not to crossexamine belfry, so hes done. Once we come back from lunch in an hour or so, well hear from the new witness, 11th witness just three days into testimony. I think were coming in about 15, 20 minutes, 2 30 eastern today, omare. Thank you. Omar spoke to eloquently, and were seeing this video from inside the cup foods. Eli hoenig is here with us today, as well as the former d. C. Chief police. I bring this up. This is a point that the prosecution is clearly addressing. He testified that george floyd appeared to be intoxicated under the influence when he came into the store. Lets listen to this piece. When i asked him if he played baseball, he went on to respond to that, but it kind of took him a little long to get to what he was trying to say. So it would appear that he was high. So you just had some signs that you thought he was under the influence of something . Yes. All right. But were you able to carry on at least some conversation with him . Yes. Elie, why does this matter, questioning him about that specifically . Brooke, this is a common prosecutorial tactic we call pulling the sting. What that means is if you have a fact as a prosecutor thats not good for your case, you still bring it out. It hits so much harder if the jury hears it for the first time from the defense. Imagine if the prosecutors didnt front this fact that george floyd appeared intoxicated, and the jury didnt hear about that until a week or two from now. The jury is going to think why did the prosecution not tell me this . Are they hiding things . As a prosecutor, you want the jury to look at you and believe you have full credibility and youre giving the full story, for better or worse. Got it. Pulling out the sting, neutralizing it, i suppose. Chief ramsey this is the first video from inside the store. Just given your experience, how does there in the black tank, george floyd, how does he appear . Does he look lie the high, strungout person that the defense is arguing that he was . He could very well have been high. Its difficult to tell. To me the most important part of this, for most people, the first time they saw george floyd was when he was facedown on the pavement with chauvins knee on his neck. Now they have a chance to see him before this all took place. Was he aggressive against any people in the store . Did he seem agitated . The answer to all of that is no. If he was high, i mean, the real point of this whole trial is whether or not chauvin was justified in the use of force over the extent the period of time. And so, you know, you can easily get distracted. The other part and the other video i think is important is when you see exactly when he was handcuffed, restrained. It was soon after the police first encountered him and took him out of the car. Why is that important . Its important. When youre talking about use of force, if youre going to use force against a person who is already restrained, you have to have a better justification than you might have to have if a person is free to wrestle their arms, those kinds of things. Its not that a person handcuffed cant become a problem. They kick and do all kinds of things, but it does, i think, highlight exactly the behavior of george floyd. Was he aggressive . Was he doing something to the officers that would justify ultimately that high level of force they use over and extended period of time . In my mind, so far, i dont think the defense has shown anything. Chief, let me stay with you. We heard christopher belfry say he pulled up and saw the officer come over and pull his gun. And im just wondering whats protocol in that sort of situation . Well, i mean, it depends on the training they received there in minneapolis, but let me just say this. If an officer draws their gun, its usually considered a use of force at a person, but if a gun is drawn at the ready position, thats not considered a use of force. If youre making a felony car stop, for example, you dont know exactly what you have, sometimes you do unholster, so it depends on the circumstances. I dont know what was going through the officers mind at the time or what the procedure is in minneapolis. I do a lot of work with consent decrees with the doj. That is an area that they pretty much agree, if you point toward a person, thats considered use of force, if not, its not. Ellie, we keep hearing their feeling a year later that they failed george floyd for not doing more to save his life. You have the employee, Christopher Martin, describing the disbelief and guilt, when he had his hands on his head and he said, quote, if i would not have just taken the 20 bill, this could have all been avoided. What does that mean for the prosecution and the defense. How will his testimony potentially affect the jury . That is such a normal and common human reaction to witnesses to traumatic, violent events. Ive seen it many times. People who witness these events, months, years later when they testify in court, almost always ask could i have done Something Different . Could i have done something more . It humanizes the case for the jury. Lets remember, the jury is human beings. Were not seeing them, but they are 12 human beings. They react to what theyre seeing, witnesses who cover the range of ages, different professions, all telling fundamentally similar stories. I think the prosecution is bringing that story to life for the jury. Thank you. Hang with me. Were going to come back to this in a bit, as theyre about to come back from the lunch break. Today President Biden is launching the historic effort to overhaul the crumbling infrastructure. A senior officials tells cnn that the white house wants to be progress on roads, bridges, airports, even the internet, by memorial day. This white house is proposing to fund this 2 trillion package by reversing the tax cuts, a plan being strongly denounced as dangerously misguided, and cnns White House Correspondent is live there in pittsburgh, where the president is set to present this plan. Obviously a huge proposal, bill. Whats in it . Reporter its a huge lift politically, but policywise, infrastructure has historically been bipartisan on the top line, but the details are where they get tripped up, and the deed tails are big here. Were talking about 22,000 new miles of roads, 10,000 bridges to be repaired, waterways, ports, but it also serves as an umbrella for other key items. Education infrastructure, hundreds of billions for what they term as the care economy, and also elements of climate and climate goals are wrapped in throughout this proposal, most notably the electric grid, and also a fleet of electric vehicles would be financed as well. It is a very big proposal. Worth noting, its only part one of the proposal. Theres already strong opposition from this, and we heard some of it from senator mcconnell today. Its like a trojan horse. Its called infrastructure, but inside the trojan horse will be more borrowed money and massive tax increases on all the protective parts of our economy. Railroad so obviously the scale of the spending is one issue, but its the payfors. The chamber of commerce has already been opposed to how the Biden Administration plans to pay for the plan. Eight years of spending paid over the course of 15, largely reversing key components of former president trumps 2016 tax reform. It would also impose a global minute increase the global minimum tax to 21 . It would seek to do away with fossil fuel subsidies as well. Republicans have been very clear, they not for tax increases. That raises the question for the Biden Administration at this time. What is the pathway forward. Obviously they are just following a cornerstone legislative achievement in that 1. 9 trillion relief. Keep in mind democrats trying to use the same mechanism. This is not coronavirus relief. The details are extraordinarily thorny. Youre talking about energy and tax policy. Democrats are not unified on this as they were on coronavirus relief. Officials know this isnt going to be clean or easy. They know it will take time. The question is how much time, and can they finally get infrastructure across the finish line, something after administration after administration after administration has tried the last couple decades. You would know about all the work this will require, including within the Democratic Party itself, having covered the hill as long as you have. Well look for the president in a couple hours. Good to see you. Any moment now the Derek Chauvin trial will return. Also, great news for parents who would like to protect their kids from covid. Pfizer is reporting that the vaccine is 100 effective for kids ages 12 to 15. We have that news coming up. Youre watching cnn. Im brooke baldwin. When a hailstorm hit, he needed his insurance to get it done right, right away. Usaa. What youre made of, were made for. Usaa since suzies got goals, shell want a plan to reach them. So shell get some help from fidelity, and shell feel so good about her plan, she can focus on living it. Thats the planning effect, from fidelity. All right. Any minute now jury in the trial of former Police Officer Derek Chauvin will return to that courtroom. Theyve been on this lunch break after another emotional morn testimony. So we will bring you back to the next witness. Meantime, we are following major news in the coronavirus pandemic concerning vaccine maker pfizer. First, the company says its met its commitment to have 120 million doses ready to ship to the u. S. By the end of this month. Thats huge. Number two, pfizer also says the vaccine is 100 safe for teenagers and prevent illness. Clinical trial data shows this age group with tolerate the vaccine much better than adults who have gotten the vaccine. This potential gamechanging data still needs to undergo a peer review, but pfizer plans to submit the results to the fda for emergency use authorization. With that, lets take you back to the trial of former officer Derek Chauvin. First of all, if you feel comfortable, we would appreciate it if you could remove your mask. Ill keep mine on. Were going to test out the microphone and how it works with you. If you cant state your full name. First chaim is charles, last maim capital mcmillian. Good afternoon, sir. Good afternoon. How are you doing today . Okay. Thank you for big here. Im going to start with some questions about your background and well move on from there are the all right . Yes. Could you tell the jury how old you . 61 years old. How far did you go . School . Third grade. What city do you live in . In hennepin county. Are you in minneapolis . Yes, maam. Im going to ask you some questions about memorial day, may 25th, of last year. Do you live in an area close to cup foods . Yes, i do. And that evening on may 25th, were you driving by that area . Yes, i was. And what kind of car do you drive . I drive a 2006 dodge caravan, blue. Is that a van . Yes, maam. So, when you were in the area of 38th and draw, did something draw your attention . Yes, maam. What was that . I was at the red light, i was going to go east onto 38th. That was to my left. When i got there to make a left turn, i see an interaction with a car with a man in with a Police Officer. So im going to show you a map. If we could put up exhibit 1, please. All right. So you were talking about where you were. Uses this map thats up on the screen, could you just describe you can actually use your theres a little pen there, to show the jury on the screen where you were and where you were headed. I need a minute, because im old. I cant hardly see i was on the corner of 38th and chicago to make a left to go east toward 47th and hiawatha. It would be right here. You just made a mark on that intersection in the direction you were headed, which is eastbound. Is that right . Yes. When you were headed down 38th, you saw an interaction with somebody and some Police Officers. What did you see at that point . When i made the left, i seen a blue i think it was a mercedesbenz truck on the right side with a Police Officer standing at the store. I automatically made a right turn and pulled over. What made you decide to pull over . Just being nosy. Im in the neighborhood. Im a nosy person. Did you want to know what was going on . Yes. Being nosy, thats what it was. You saw an officer standing next to a blue mercedes truck. With the door open. Did you see what the officer was doing at that point . Uh, no, not at the time. So you want you decided you wanted to pull over, see whats going on . Get out. Did you pull up the street. Immediately parked, got out. So when you got out, what did you do . I walked i went to the other side of the street. All right. Would that be the cup foods side of the street . Yes. What did you do on the other side of the street . I engaged what was going on by watching. What did you see from the cup foods side of the street . Basically i seen the officer, you know, asking mr. Floyd to get out of the truck. Got mr. Floyd out of the truck and they walked over to the sidewalk where just walked over to the sidewalk. Im going to stop you right there. Well break it down a bit. Yes, maam. You said you saw the officers getting mr. Floyd out of the truck. Yes, maam. You say mr. Floyd. Diyou know who he was at the time . No maam. Did you later learn that was george floyd . Yes, maam. How many officers at the time did you see interacting with mr. Floyd . I want to is a one at the time that another one walked over to help him. Tell the jury about that. What did you see the first officer do . Start from that point. When i got out of my truck and started watching, the officers were basically asking mr. Floyd to get out. From that point on, i dont want to say the other officer walked up the other officer was on the other side. He walked up to the officer who was trying to get mr. Floyd out of the trucks. I heard a couple words. They finally got mr. Floyd off truck and walked him down. First you saw one officer interacting on the drivers side of the car. Yes, maam. You said there was another officer who was on the passenger side initially of that blue mercedes truck. Is that right . Yes, maam. I think you were describing that eventually that officer on the passengers side came over to assist on the drivers side. Is that right . Yes, maam. You said that those officers got mr. Floyd handcuffed. Did you see that happen . No, i didnt. Im not recalling. What did you see while you were standing on the cup foods side of the street happen next to that suv . At that i had been looking away, but then when you turned back and look, i did see mr. Floyd handcuffed. Then they started to walk him down the sidewalk. So you didnt see the very moment he was handcuffed . No, but you did see he ended up in handcuffs. Yes, maam. Were you looking around you but not focused the entire time on what the exact moment he was handcuffed . No. You said he was handcuffed and then they walked him across the street. Can you describe or so what you saw happen next . All right, so if you could put either a line or mark where you saw them walking . Can we enlarge it this is it possible . He was on the righthand side. I cant see where the restaurants is on the right side. Lets take off the enlaurgeed portion for a second. Theres a small restaurant behind the truck. Thats what im looking for. I cant see it. Would that be the dragon wok . Yes, its a restaurant on the corner. Is that where the officers you saw walked with mr. Floyd at that point . Yes, maam. You said he was in handcuffs. Was mr. Floyd walking across the street . Yes, he was walking up the sidewalk with them. Then what happened . He said somebody couldnt he said something, i cant quote right what he said, but whatever he said, they let him sit down. Were you watching that part of the enterinteraction where h down . Yes. Im going to try not to talk over you, if you wait for the question, and ill try not to do the same thing. Yes, sorry. Could you hear what was going on in terms of the whole conversation . No, maam. But you w