MINNEAPOLIS — The brother of George Floyd testified in court Monday how the two of them were close growing up in Texas and gave in to tears when a photo of their mother holding George as a baby was shown to the jury.
At the start of the third week of the Derek Chauvin murder trial in Hennepin County District Court, Philonise Floyd spoke of George's devotion to their mother, saying, "He loved her so dearly."
Philonise Floyd described the photo to jurors, saying, "That's my mother, she's no longer with us, but that's my oldest brother George. I miss both of them," he said, adding that his wedding anniversary is in May, but his brother and mother both died in the month of May. "It's a bittersweet moment because I'm supposed to be happy when that month comes."
George Floyd was able to speak to their mother on phone while she was in hospice care but didn't see her before she died on May 30, 2018, Philonise said. George repeatedly called out "Momma" to her at her funeral and wouldn't leave the casket, the brother said.
Philonise said his brother's relationship with his mother "was one of a kind. George, he would always be up on our mom. He was a big mama's boy. ... Every mother loves all of her kids but it's so unique how they were. He would lay up on her like in the fetus position like he was in the womb."
In family's community, Philonise Floyd said that George "was one of those people in the community, when they had church outside, people would attend church just because he was there. Nobody would go out there until they seen him. He was a person everybody loved around the community. He just knew how to make people feel better."
Although about seven years apart, Philonise Floyd spent a lot of time together growing up in Houston and "playing video games all the time."
He also recalled his older brother "used to make the best banana mayonnaise sandwiches. ... George couldn't cook. He couldn't boil water."
Marks on a wall in the family home tracked George Floyd's growth, Philonise Floyd said. "He wanted to be taller all the time because he loved sports," the brother said. "He wanted to be the best."
The first witness called Monday was Dr. Jonathan Rich, a medical expert in cardiology from Northwestern Memorial Hospital in the Chicago area, who the prosecution hopes to counter defense contentions that Floyd died from health problems and illicit drug use.
"I believe that Mr. George Floyd's death was absolutely preventable," Rich testified Monday.
Rich testified that he believes Floyd's cause of death was cardiopulmonary arrest caused by low oxygen levels. Those oxygen levels, he said as have others before him, "were induced by the prone restraint and positional asphyxia that he was subjected to."
Further, the doctor said, "I can state with a high degree of medical certainty that George Floyd did not die from a cardiac event and he did not die from an overdose."
Rich said he has watched bystander and other video from the scene and saw no evidence in Floyd's behavior or appearance that he was having difficulty with his heart until be pinned on the pavement by Chauvin and two other officers.
He had been stricken in connection from ongoing heart condition, he would immediately fall unconscious, Rich said.
In Floyd's case, the doctor said, low oxygen sent him into cardiopulmonary arrest "much more gradually and slowly. ... His speech (was) starting to become less forceful ... until his speech became absent and his muscle movements were absent."
The doctor added that his review of autopsy records also led him to conclude that Floyd did not suffer a heart attack on May 25 or at any other time in his life.
Rich went to say that despite seeing coronary artery blockage in Floyd's heart, the doctor said he saw nothing in the medical records to suggest that played a role in the death.
Prosecutor Jerry Blackwell turned his questioning to Floyd's illicit drug use, and Rich echoed what many earlier witnesses told the jury: "I see no evidence to suggest that a fentanyl overdose caused Mr. Floyd's death," said Rich, who treats patients who have used fentanyl.
The doctor dismissed just as firmly any impact methamphetamine had on Floyd's fate, saying the drug "no substantive role" given that where was "a very relative low level of methamphetamine in his system."
Prevention measures that would have helped included "not subjecting him to that prone restraint" in the first place, relieving Floyd from that position and administering CPR once another officer said no pulse was detected.
Blackwell wrapped up by asking Rich whether Floyd have survived his encounter with police if not for his 9 minutes and 29 seconds on restraint on the pavement. "Yes, I believe he would have lived."
Defense attorney Eric Nelson asked on cross examination whether Floyd would have survived if he had followed police orders and gotten into the squad car upon arrest.
Rich replied "yes, I would agree with you" that any number of scenarios before being pinned to the pavement, including complying with the officers, would have spared Floyd's life.
The doctor did agree that Floyd had a significant presence of heart disease but tried to fend off Nelson's questions about the dangers of a 90% narrowing of a coronary artery being especially life-threatening, saying the heart finds way to create new paths for blood to circulate under those conditions.
Also, while Rich said during prosecution questioning that he reviewed all of the 46-year-old Floyd's medical records, the doctor acknowledged to the defense attorney that those records went back only three years.
Also testifying was Seth W. Stoughton, of the University of South Carolina Law School, a former police officer who is an academic bringing a national perspective to the case about law enforcement tactics concerning use of force.
Stoughton went through various points in the arrest as video clips were shown and said Floyd never should have been put stomach-down on the pavement in the first place.
He said Floyd told officers "thank you" for being removed from the squad car while handcuffed and put on his knees.
Citing there being five officers in total at the scene, Stoughton concluded, "It's clear from the number of officers here the fact that he's handcuffed and has been searched, he doesn't present a threat. ... Given the range of other alternatives available to the officers, it's just not appropriate to prone someone who is at that point cooperative."
Once the prosecution rests, the defense gets its turn to prove several elements it has raised starting with Nelson's opening statement and consistently continuing throughout the cross examination of the stream of witnesses so far. Those points include that Floyd's health problems and drug use caused his death.
Cahill disclosed in court Monday before jurors were called into the courtroom that he believes closing arguments will be made next Monday ahead of deliberations.
Also before testimony resumed Monday, defense attorney Eric Nelson asked Judge Peter Cahill to immediately sequester the jurors and question them regarding what they might have learned about the civil unrest following the fatal shooting of a man Sunday in Brooklyn Center.
Nelson pointed said that he has concerns that jurors could avoid finding Chauvin not guilty out because they are worried about the potential for violence in response.
"I understand that it's not this case, I understand it's not the same parties, but the problem is the ultimate response sets the stage for the jury to say 'I'm not going to vote not guilty because I'm concerned about the outcome,' " Nelson said.
Nelson also wanted Cahill to order the jurors to avoid all news media, an expansion of the judge's ruling that they only avoid coverage of this trial.
Prosecutor Steve Schleicher opposed both defense requests. While acknowledging that the incident in Brooklyn Center also involved a citizen's death during an encounter with police, "We don't know the real events of what happened."
Schleicher said, "We can't have every single world event that might affect somebody's attitude or emotional state be grounds to come back and (re-examine) the jurors," he said. "This is a totally different case, and I realize there is civil unrest and maybe some of the jurors did hear about that."
He noted that "all of the jurors were sworn to be fair and impartial, (and) the law presumes that jurors will follow the court's instructions. ... It's very difficult to avoid all media. Media comes at us in all different forms."
Cahill swiftly declined both requests of the defense, so sequestration will only begin upon deliberations, which the judge said he anticipates will start next Monday. He also declined to tighten his order on juror caution about avoiding news media.
"It's a totally different case," he said of the Brooklyn Center killing. "It's not a big surprise that there is civil unrest in this case."
One matter still to be settled from last week was whether a man in Floyd's SUV the night of his arrest should be compelled to testify.
Morries L. Hall has told the court that he intended to invoke his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination should he be called as a witness. Through his attorney, Hall has told the court that testifying could expose him to potential charges of third-degree murder and other felony allegations.
Autopsy results have shown that Floyd had illicit drugs — specifically fentanyl and methamphetamine — in his body at the time. Floyd's girlfriend has testified that Hall provided Floyd with drugs during the month of his death.
The judge told defense attorney Eric Nelson to make a list of questions he would like to ask Hall and present them to the court. Should Cahill decide that Hall can be called as a witness, he might limit the breadth of questioning.
The prosecution and defense made their opposing pitches again Monday. Nelson also brought up statements made by Hall that he made under questioning by law enforcement in Texas and said he wants his answers to be presented as evidence. Among other things, the defense attorney said, Hall admit to having counterfeit money in the car, throwing something fro the car, giving false identification to police at 38th Street and Chicago Avenue, etc. He denied giving Floyd drugs, Nelson said.
In a setback to the defense, Cahill ruled after the midday break that Hall's statements in Texas are inadmissible, at one point questioning Hall's credibility. Now, should Hall be called to testify, he could well invoke his right to avoid self-incrimination with each question posed.
Chauvin is charged with second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the killing of Floyd. Three other fired officers who assisted in Floyd's 2020 arrest — J. Alexander Kueng, Lane and Tou Thao — are scheduled to be tried in August on charges of aiding and abetting murder and manslaughter.
On Friday, Hennepin County's chief medical examiner testified that Floyd's underlying heart disease contributed to his death a and that being held down on the street outside Cup Foods was "just more than Mr. Floyd could take."
Dr. Andrew Baker's testimony came after three other medical experts had already testified on behalf of the prosecution. Cause of death is a pivotal point of contention between prosecutors and the defense.
Baker's findings, based on his autopsy the day after the 46-year-old Floyd died, determined he died from "cardiopulmonary arrest complicating law enforcement subdual, restraint, and neck compression."
He did not cite a lack of oxygen, or asphyxia, a cause found by three prior prosecution experts, including Dr. Lindsey Thomas, a medical examiner who worked on Baker's staff from 2013 to 2017.
"In this case, I believe the primary mechanism of death is asphyxia, or low oxygen," said Thomas, a medical examiner of 37 years who retired from Hennepin County.
Questioned further by prosecutor Jerry Blackwell, she said, "There's no evidence to suggest he would have died that night except for the interactions with law enforcement."
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(Star Tribune staff writers Rochelle Olson and Chao Xiong contributed to this report.)
