Federal prosecutors are building their case against the three former Minneapolis police officers who participated in the murder of George Floyd.
On Wednesday (January 26), prosecutors called eye witnesses to the stand in order to argue that even civilian bystanders could tell Floyd needed medical attention while CPR-trained ex-officers Derek Chauvin, Thomas Lane, J. Alexander Kueng, and Tou Thao pinned him to the ground for more than nine minutes.
“I could tell something bad was going to happen to Mr. Floyd,” Charles McMillian emotionally testified while jurors watched graphic footage of the fatal arrest, according to The Associated Press. In the footage, McMillian can be heard begging officers to get off of Floyd so he could breathe.
Prosecutors say that while Chauvin drove his knee into Floyd’s neck, Kueng knelt on the 46-year-old’s back, Lane held down his legs and Thao prevented bystanders from intervening.
McMillian told defense attorneys he didn’t hear or see Lane suggesting Floyd be rolled onto his side or doing chest compressions later or Kueng say he couldn’t find a pulse, the AP reported.
Another witness, 20-year-old Christopher Martin testified that he recorded roughly 30 seconds of the incident before he saw Thao push a bystander and stopped the recording.
The three are facing federal civil rights violations and state aiding and abetting a manslaughter charges. Chauvin pleaded guilty to the federal charges and was convicted of murder in April 2021. He is currently serving a 22 and half year prison sentence.
Reading about Black trauma can have an impact on your mental health. If you or someone you know need immediate mental health help, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor. These additional resources are also available:
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-8255
The National Alliance on Mental Illness 1-800-950-6264
The Association of Black Psychologists 1-301-449-3082
The Anxiety and Depression Association of America 1-240-485-1001
For more mental health resources, click HERE.
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