First modification:
During the second day of the trial against former police officer Derek Chauvin, who is charged with murder and murder for the death of George Floyd, 18-year-old Darnella Frazier, who is responsible for the video that captured the moment, testified. arrest of the African American citizen. Donald Williams, a professional martial arts fighter, and fire department officer Genevieve Hansen also took a statement on the day.
The day of May 25, 2020 completely changed the life of Darnella Frazier, who until that day had walked hundreds of times to the ‘Cup Foods’ establishment in Minneapolis and by then was 17 years old.
On his way to the establishment that day, Frazier was present when a group of police officers subdued an African-American citizen. Without knowing at the time that it was George Floyd, he decided to record the incident in an audiovisual piece that lasted about 10 minutes but went around the world and today serves as evidence in the trial against the police officer.
“I have spent entire nights apologizing over and over to George Floyd for not having done more, not having physically interacted and not saving his life,” said the witness during her statement. He also added that he could have done little, “every time someone tried to get close, (the police) were on the defensive,” he said in his statement.
Frazier, who is now 18 years old, said in her words that she felt threatened by police officers at the time. Additionally, he denied that the officers had been threatened by the crowd of people present at the scene and described Floyd as a person terrified during the event.
“He was scared, terrified, he begged for his life (…) That was not good. He was suffering, it hurt (…) I knew it was wrong. We all knew it was wrong, ”added the young woman.
Donald Williams, martial arts expert and witness to the event
Donald Williams, a 33-year-old citizen who works as a mixed martial arts (MMA) instructor, also gave a statement on the day. In his testimony, among other things, he noted that Floyd was in danger when he arrived at the scene.
“You could tell that he was barely trying to breathe,” said Williams who, according to his version, called 911 once the ambulance removed Floyd from the scene to offer him medical attention, “he felt he had witnessed a murder,” he claimed.
Eric Nelson, an attorney for the former police officer at the trial, presented Williams as a witness with no medical experience to judge his client’s actions. However, for the jury he is a key witness because he knows immobilization and strangulation techniques.
Williams pointed out that Floyd was apprehended by Chauvin using a technique known in martial arts as ‘suffocation hook’. During his statement, he stressed that he asked Chauvin to stop what he defined as “a dangerous blood strangulation.”
“You could see he was in tremendous pain,” said Williams, who claimed to have raised his voice in anger at the time, but did not intervene otherwise.
However, Nelson indicated during his interrogation that Williams was always angry and addressed his client, then a police officer, as a “tramp” and a “bitch.”
City firefighter highlights that the police prevented him from acting
On the second day of the trial, Genevieve Hansen, a Minneapolis fire department officer with emergency medical training who was off duty during the day of May 25, also testified.
In his statement, he noted that the police did not allow him to provide medical attention to Floyd at the scene of the event.
“He was not moving and he was handcuffed. Three men put their weight on him and it was too much (…) I soon realized that he had an altered state of consciousness, “said the fire officer.
Hansen, who indicated that he identified himself as a firefighter, only needed to know if Floyd had a pulse. During his testimony he referred to the performance of the officer, Tou Thao, who did not subdue Floyd, but kept viewers at bay.
“Thao replied that if he really was a firefighter, he should know that I didn’t have to get involved,” he added.
The trial against Derek Chauvin for the death of George Floyd will continue. The case, which sparked a wave of outrage in the Afro-descendant community in the United States and much of the world, could send the former police officer to prison for about 40 years if convicted.
This trial, the first to be broadcast on television in the state of Minnesota, takes place amid protests by supporters of the Afro-descendant community that has joined to demand justice for Floyd’s death in 2020.
With Reuters and EFE
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source https://pledgetimes.com/george-floyd-case-witness-statements-continue-during-the-second-day-of-the-trial/
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