![]() ![]() The trial of Derek Chauvin is giving a personal face to political arguments and theoretical abstractions. What happened to him resembled a public execution, one that echoes for many the anti-Black lynchings that marked the Jim Crow era. Williams continued: "I didn't say hope. I don't hope death on anyone. The bible doesn't allow that.Peniel Joseph Kelvin Ma/Tufts University/Kelvin Ma/Tufts UniversityĬollectively, the harrowing accounts of witnesses and bystanders who watched Floyd die offer tragically compelling evidence of state-sanctioned violence against Black bodies. "I didn't say I hope he's going to shoot himself," Williams clarified. "I said within the next two years, you will shoot yourself in your head for what you did." ![]() Later in the questioning, Chauvin's attorney asked Williams about a statement he made during a 911 call where, according to the defense, he had told one of the officers at the scene he was "hoping he would shoot himself." The witness admitted to making the comments on the stand. The defense also referenced several other statements that Williams can be heard on video directing at police, including some that contained profanity. Williams: That's what you count in the video? Note: the judge told the jury that the next four witnesses are going to be persons who, because of their age, will not be in the video broadcast of the trial.Īttorney: You called him a bum at least 13 times. "This is the officer that was kneeling on George Floyd's neck," she said. She was then shown a photo of Chauvin and asked to identify him. She said, "I heard George Floyd saying - I can't breathe. Please. Get off me. I can't breathe. He cried for his mom. It seemed like he knew - seemed like he knew it was over for him." She testified that she came to know later that the man on the ground was George FloydĪsked what she did next, the witness said, "I pulled out my phone" and began "recording, capturing what I was seeing" She said she saw, "a man terrified, scared, begging for his life" The prosecution played video of the witness and her cousin walking past the scene where former officer Derek Chauvin had Floyd pinned on the ground. The woman testified that she and her cousin were walking past the scene at Cup Foods that day. Her identity is being kept secret because she was a minor on May 25, 2020, when she witnessed George Floyd's death. The next witness is an 18-year-old student. Prosecuting attorney Jerry Blackwell Pool "They put their hand on their mace. I can't remember if they actually pointed it at us but they definitely put their hand on the mace and we all backed back."Īsked specifically if she felt threatened by Chauvin, she said: She went on to describe how a firefighter asked Chauvin if she could check Floyd's pulse but Chauvin "remained kneeling on his neck, and she asked multiple times, not just once."Īsked why no one in the crowd did anything or tried to get close, Frazier said she felt threatened as the officers "were quick to pull out mace." "I heard George Floyd saying - I can't breathe. Please. Get off me. I can't breathe. He cried for his mom. It seemed like he knew - seemed like he knew it was over for him," she testified. Court TV via APĭarnella Frazier, an 18-year-old witness who filmed George Floyd's death on May 25, 2020, told the court she felt threatened by former police officer Derek Chauvin.įrazier, who was 17 at the time of the incident, testified that she and her cousin were walking past the scene at Cup Foods that day and were part of the crowd who witnessed Floyd's death and the circumstances around it. Defense attorney Eric Nelson, left, and former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, right, listen during Chauvin's trial on March 30.
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