Policeman Derek Chauvin unmoved as crowd begged him to take knee off George Floyd’s neck, court hears
- Teen who took viral video of deadly arrest says the officer gave onlookers a ‘cold’ and ‘heartless stare’
- Floyd’s death sparked protests around the US and the world against racism and police brutality
Onlookers grew increasingly angry as they begged Minneapolis Officer Derek Chauvin to take his knee off George Floyd’s neck, but Chauvin would not let up, and another officer forced back members of the crowd who tried to intervene, witnesses testified Tuesday at Chauvin’s murder trial.
Witness after witness described how Chauvin was unmoved by their pleas, with the teenager who shot the harrowing video of the arrest that set off nationwide protests testifying that the officer gave the crowd a “cold” and “heartless” stare.
“He didn’t care. It seemed as if he didn’t care what we were saying,” said 18-year-old Darnella Frazier, one of several witnesses who testified through tears.
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Anti-racism and police brutality protests sparked by death of George Floyd continue around the globe
Frazier said Chauvin continued to kneel on Floyd while fellow Officer Tou Thao held the crowd of about 15 back, even when one of the onlookers identified herself as a firefighter and pleaded repeatedly to check Floyd’s pulse.
“They definitely put their hands on the mace, and we all pulled back,” Frazier told the jury.
The prosecution asked multiple witnesses to describe their horror at what they saw, buttressing the testimony with multiple videos, some of which had never been seen before.
Many testified about feelings of helplessness as Floyd gasped for air, pleaded for his life and finally fell limp and silent, his eyes rolling back in his head. The testimony was apparently aimed at showing that Chauvin had multiple opportunities to think about what he doing and change course.