Witness breaks down as he watches video of George Floyd arrest
The trial for former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin continues Wednesday after several witnesses delivered compelling testimony surrounding the death of George Floyd.
Witnesses said they pleaded with the police officer who was seen with his knee pressed into Mr Floyd’s neck for several minutes on bystander-recorded video, which subsequently sparked international protests, to stop hurting Mr Floyd. They said they watched as Mr Floyd died, often becoming emotional and wiping away tears while recounting those painful memories.
“There was a man being killed,” Genevieve Hansen, a Minneapolis firefighter and one of several bystanders seen and heard shouting at Mr Chauvin on that video, said on Tuesday. “I would have been able to provide medical attention to the best of my abilities. And this human was denied that right.”
The trial continued with additional witnesses delivering testimony on Wednesday, including 19-year-old Christopher Martin, who worked at the store Mr Floyd visited just before his death.
Charles McMillian, 61, became emotional and sobbed uncontrollably after the prosecution showed video of the police struggling to get George Floyd into the patrol car and calling for his mother.
“I feel helpless,” said a distraught Mr McMillian as the judge told the court it would take a ten minute break.
The jury was then shown MPD body camera video footage taken by each of the four officers involved in the incident, showing Mr Floyd’s death from a string of different angles.
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