MINNEAPOLIS — The defense attorney for former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin, who is charged with the murder of George Floyd, said in closing arguments Monday that his client followed police procedure and acted reasonably when he restrained Floyd.
“He walks onto a scene, he sees active resistance occurring,” said Eric Nelson while playing body camera video of Chauvin’s encounter with Floyd. The lawyer said Chauvin had “techniques at his disposal” that included controlled takedowns and neck restraints to subdue a suspect who was not complying with police orders.
Chauvin sat inside the courtroom staring intently at his attorney in a case that has set this city on edge and gripped the nation with questions of race and police brutality. Chauvin’s defense throughout the trial has argued that Floyd put himself at risk by swallowing fentanyl and methamphetamine and that underlying heart issues led to his death.
“A reasonable police officer wants to keep his fellow officers safe,” said Nelson, who has also argued that volatile bystanders led to a chaotic situation that justified Chauvin’s actions before and during the time he knelt on Floyd’s neck to make an arrest. The white officer pinned Floyd to the ground for more than nine minutes, despite the Black man’s repeated cries that he couldn’t breathe.
Nelson stressed that Chauvin’s actions were in line with his department training, saying they amounted to “an authorized use of force as unattractive as it may be.”
The 12 jurors are set to begin deliberations late Monday inside the Hennepin County Government Center, which is surrounded by concrete barriers and razor wire.
Earlier Monday, prosecutor Steve Schleicher argued that Chauvin recklessly squeezed the life from Floyd.
“The force was too much. He was trapped,” Schleicher said. “Trapped with the unyielding pavement underneath him.”
He added: “What the defendant did to George Floyd killed him.”
Chauvin is charged with manslaughter, second-degree murder and third-degree murder.
Guilty verdicts must be unanimous, which means the defense needs to raise doubt in the mind of just a single juror on the various counts. The charges carry different maximum sentences: 40 years for second-degree unintentional murder, 25 years for third-degree murder and 10 years for second-degree manslaughter. Sentencing guidelines call for far less time, including 12 1/2 years on either murder count.
During the testimony phase, the prosecution called dozens of witnesses — bystanders, police officers, medical experts — to present its case against Chauvin in a trial that entered its fourth week Monday. Several officers testified that Chauvin’s force was excessive.
Schleicher said Monday that Chauvin’s actions were not in line with the motto of the Minneapolis police.
“The motto of the Minneapolis Police Department is to protect with courage and to serve with compassion,” he said. “But George Floyd was not a threat to anyone. He was not trying to hurt anyone. He was not trying to do anything to anyone.
“Facing George Floyd that day — that did not require one ounce of courage. And none was shown on that day. All that was required was a little compassion. And none was shown on that day.”
Schleicher implored jurors to reflect on what they saw on video.
“Believe your eyes,” he said.
The closing arguments here in downtown Minneapolis come amid increased pain in the area. Last week, 10 miles from the courthouse where Chauvin’s trial is playing out, a police officer in the Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Center killed 20-year-old Daunte Wright, an unarmed Black man.
The officer, a 26-year veteran, was charged with second-degree manslaughter after officials said she mistook her gun for her Taser. For several nights, protesters have taken to the streets here in the Twin Cities calling on prosecutors to increase the charges to include murder.
Nearly 3,000 National Guard troops are on patrol throughout the region.
