First modification:
Medaria Arradondo, in charge of the city’s police force, testified against agent Derek Chauvin, accused of murdering George Floyd on May 25 during an arrest. The police chief denied the defense line that assured that Chauvin used a legal detention procedure and assured that his procedure “violated” the norms of the police force.
Police Officer Derek Chauvin’s defense was hit hard after Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo testified. This person assured that the arrest that Chauvin carried out on George Floyd and that ended his life “violates the principles and values that we have” in the police force. Arradondo was very tough on his former subordinate, an unusual position in a police command.
The superior of the city police analyzed the images and assured that it was a serious mistake to suffocate George Floyd with his knee instead of handcuffing him behind his back. “I vehemently disagree that this was an appropriate use of force for that situation on May 25,” he said, in a clear response to Chauvin’s defense, who had argued that the detention procedure was legal.
Arradondo was the first African-American officer to be appointed as the city of Minneapolis police chief, and he fired Chauvin the day after Floyd’s death.
The testimonies of Chauvin’s former teammates have been among the most anticipated in the agent’s trial, which is now in its sixth day. Typically, law enforcement officers tend to close ranks around the protection of colleagues who may be involved in controversial cases of police abuse, but this time they have not. A significant portion of senior Minneapolis police officers have come out against the action of the accused officer.
During his statement, Arradondo also pointed out that the pressure exerted on Floyd’s neck “did not appear to be mild or moderate”, that Chauvin after 19 years of service “should know that he had to have raised his knee before” and that, furthermore, the police officer prevented first aid assistance when Floyd was dying.
The chief police officer added that the reason for the arrest seemed “exaggerated.” Floyd was arrested for allegedly using a counterfeit $ 20 bill when shopping for tobacco, a minor offense that Arradondo believes does not entail the need for such a detention.
Arradondo was at home on May 25, 2020, the day of Floyd’s arrest and subsequent death, and assured that he was able to see the events when “community members showed him the videos taken by the witnesses.” After that he could see how long Chauvin had kept Floyd immobilized face down and concluded that he violated the “principles and values” of his department.
The doctor who certified Floyd’s death maintains that it was due to “asphyxia”
Before Arradondo’s appearance, Bradford Langenfeld, the doctor who certified George Floyd’s death after his arrest, testified. The health professional also dismantled with his testimony another of the main arguments of the defense, assuring that Floyd died of asphyxiation.
The defense has tried to demonstrate during these days that the detainee died of a heart attack due to the drugs he had previously ingested, something that could lower Derek Chauvin’s sentence, however, Langenfeld’s testimony destroys all this.
Langenfeld tried unsuccessfully to revive Floyd for more than thirty minutes. In that sense, he indicated that the most likely reason for his death was hypoxia, that is, a lack of oxygen in the brain and other organs. There was no obvious or significant trauma to suggest that he suffered something that caused a bleed leading to cardiac arrest, “Langenfeld added.
Chauvin’s defense tried to show that some of the drugs found in Floyd’s blood could have caused the hypoxia. When asked by the defense attorney which of them, Langenfeld replied that fentanyl and methamphetamine, both found in his body at the autopsy.
The initial medical report classified Chauvin’s procedure as homicide and assured that, although the presence of these drugs “was remarkable,” they were not the apparent cause of death.
Derek Chauvin is charged with second degree murder, punishable by up to 40 years in prison; murder in the third degree, with a maximum sentence of 25 years, and murder in the second degree, which carries up to 10 years of imprisonment. Although it should be borne in mind that by not having a prior record, your sentence may be reduced by half.
With AP, Reuters and EFE
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source https://pledgetimes.com/george-floyd-trial-police-chief-claimed-chauvin-violated-arrest-policies/
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