The Trial of Derek Chauvin

Boaz Fox ‘23

On Apr. 19, closing arguments in the case against Derek Chauvin, who stood accused of murdering George Floyd in May, were completed and the jury began their deliberation. The city of Minneapolis stood on edge, awaiting the results of a three-week-long trial. 
In May 2020, a video went viral of then-Minneapolis police officer Chauvin kneeling on the neck of Floyd for nearly ten minutes. In the video, Floyd was heard begging for air and calling out for his mother before he became unresponsive. Floyd was pronounced dead at the hospital soon after.

The viral video sparked the largest protest movement in American history, with tens of millions of Americans taking to the streets to protest police brutality. Floyd’s last words, “I can’t breathe,” became a rallying cry for those calling for justice. 
“Now is the time to send the message that racism and police brutality needs to be addressed,” sophomore Ava Lane Hurwitz said. 
Four days after Floyd’s death, Chauvin was arrested and charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. Later, the charges were amended to include second-degree murder. 
The trial began on Mar. 30 at the Hennepin County Government Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. All around the world, people tuned in to watch this hotly debated trial.
“Chauvin deserves to go to prison for killing George Floyd,” junior Amy Stein said.
Opening statements began with prosecutor Jerry Blackwell accusing Chauvin of having “betrayed his badge.” Defense attorney Eric Nelson, in his opening statements, claimed the opposite; that Chauvin “did exactly what he was trained to do.”
After opening statements, the prosecution began its case. Along with pages of evidence, they relied on testimony from 38 witnesses. One of those witnesses was police supervisor David Pleoger, who was on the scene of Floyd’s death after Floyd had been taken by an ambulance.
Officers on the scene “could have ended their restraint” of Floyd once he was restrained and no longer resisting, Pleoger said. 
Prosecutors also relied on the statements of Dr. Andrew Baker, chief medical examiner for Hennepin County, who testified that the cause of Floyd’s death was a homicide caused by “cardiopulmonary arrest complicating law enforcement subdual, restraint and neck compression.” Keep in mind that in medical terms, homicide means that the death was caused by another person intentionally, and does not reflect whether the defendant is guilty or not of murder. 
The prosecution rested its case on Apr. 13, after 11 days of testimony. The defense began its case that same day.
The defense called seven witnesses to testify. Notably, Chauvin was not on that list, as he had chosen to invoke his Fifth Amendment right.
One witness, Bary Brodd, a former police officer and self-defense expert, testified that Chauvin was following Minneapolis Police Department policy. 
However, Katie Blackwell, commander of the department’s training division testified that that was not policy and that officers are trained to use their hands when carrying out neck restraints, not their knees as Chauvin did. 
The defense also used the testimony of Dr. David Fowler, retired forensic pathologist, who said that Floyd’s death should not have been labeled a homicide because of the drugs found in Floyd’s blood and because he believed that carbon monoxide from exposure to vehicle exhaust.
The prosecution rebutted this claim with testimony from Dr. Martin Tobin, an expert in respiratory failure. Dr. Tobin cited autopsy results that showed Floyd’s carbon monoxide levels in his blood were at normal levels.
The defense rested on Apr. 15, after 2 days of testimony. Closing statements began on Apr. 19.
“Believe your eyes,” prosecutor Steve Schleicher begged the jury, citing the bystander video of the alleged murder. 
Nelson closed his statements for the defense by claiming that there wasn’t ample evidence to conclude that Floyd’s death was a homicide and that this was a case of “officers doing their job in a highly stressful situation.” 
After the closing statements were read, Judge Peter Cahill instructed the jury and deliberations began. 
“It is your duty to decide the facts in this case,” Cahill told the jury. Minneapolis, and the world, await the jury's decision on this highly important case.