George Floyd’s trial remains to be open, and a top Minneapolis homicide investigator tells the jury of the court that Floyd didn’t pose a threat when handcuffed.
Kneeling on someone’s neck can ‘kill them,’
As stated in his testimony, Lt. Richard Zimmerman had responded to the crime scene, analyzing multiple videos where it shows the moment of Chauvin kneeling on Floyd’s neck. Zimmerman tells the court: “Pulling him down to the ground face down and putting your knee on his neck for that amount of time is just uncalled for.”
He also adds that there is “no reason why the officers felt they were in danger and that’s what they would have to feel to use that level of force.” Chauvin has pleaded not guilty to murder charges, but faces backlash as the city’s police fires him after the release of the video.
Prosecutors continue to question Zimmerman, asking whether a handcuffed person was a reduced threat in which Zimmerman rebuttals, “the threat level goes down all the way. They are cuffed, how can they really hurt you. The person is handcuffed, you know, so the threat level is just not there.”
He continues, adding that in his work force he had never been trained to “kneel on the neck of somebody who’s cuffed and in the prone position.”
Zimmerman first joined the Minneapolis Polis Department in 1985, he had arrived at the scene around 30 minutes after proclaiming Floyd’s death in a nearby hospital. He wanted to make sure that the evidence found is properly secured, gathering witnesses to piece together the crime.
Chauvin’s defense tried to take the heat out of Zimmerman’s words, asking if he would agree that the use of force had been made based on Chauvin’s judgement and logical thinking.point 272 |
Nelson also agreed that when it comes to using force, there has to be factors of advantages and disadvantages of securing the scene.point 110 | With this statement, Zimmerman agreed.point 144 | point 144 | 1
The prosecutor asks if Zimmerman understands the concept of holding for Ems, which was claimed it came before the off-duty EMT who testified upon Floyd’s trial. His response is a “No.”
They also reveal a never before seen video of Chauvin’s body camera alongside EMTs trying to resuscitate Floyd before his death. Defenses say that Chauvin was trained to do what he needed to do, driving the fact that Floyd’s drug use plays a role in his overdose and death.
The trial continues and more information will be released soon.