After three weeks devoted to the selection of jurors, the debates on the merits began on Monday, March 29, at the trial of American policeman Derek Chauvin, on trial for murder and manslaughter in the investigation into the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, on May 25, 2020.
“Today begins a historic trial, which will be a referendum on the road traveled by America in its quest for equality and justice for all”, Ben Crump, the 46-year-old African-American’s family lawyer, said just before the hearing. Mr. Floyd’s death was filmed and uploaded by a passerby. The images went around the world and sparked demonstrations in the streets of New York, Seattle, Paris or Sydney, to denounce racism and police violence against minorities.
“Chauvin is on the dock, but it is America which is on trial”, ruled Reverend Al Sharpton, a civil rights activist who came to Minneapolis on purpose for this hearing “Historical”. It is a famous African-American lawyer, Jerry Blackwell, on the side of the prosecution, who opened the proceedings, Monday, in a public building transformed into an entrenched camp on the occasion of this exceptional trial, which should last three to four weeks.
Derek Chauvin a “Betrayed” his police oath and made “Excessive and unreasonable use of force” against George Floyd, he told jurors straight away. “We will prove to you beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Chauvin is far from innocent”, continued Jerry Blackwell, recalling that the policeman remained kneeling on the neck of the forty-something, pinned to the ground and handcuffed, for nine minutes and twenty-nine seconds.
“Four hundred and seventy-nine seconds”
He then showed them a video of the drama. On this recording George Floyd gasps, gasps, pleads ” I can not breathe “, before losing consciousness. Continuing his first argument, the prosecutor insisted that this trial is “Not the police trial, or police methods”. For him, the police “Do a hard job and sometimes have to make decisions in a fraction of a second”, but, he continued, ” That is not the case here “. The scene lasted “Four hundred and seventy-nine seconds, not a fraction of a second”, he hammered.
Derek Chauvin’s lawyer, Eric Nelson, assured in return that “Derek Chauvin had done exactly what he was trained to do in his nineteen-year career.” “This file relates to the evidence that will be presented to you” for the next three to four weeks, he told jurors, before continuing: “There is no political or social cause in the courtroom. “
Prosecutors want to show that Derek Chauvin showed contempt for George Floyd’s life by maintaining the pressure he was putting on the latter despite having passed out and his pulse eventually disappeared. To prove that his attitude was outside the norm, they called as the first witness the switchboard operator who had dispatched the agents to George Floyd.
Jena Scurry recounted having followed, while handling other calls, their intervention on a surveillance camera. “I thought the image was frozen” so long have they remained motionless, “My instinct told me that something was wrong”, she confided. She then decided to call a police officer. “You might say that I’m a snitch”, she had told him before reporting the incident to him.
The verdict is expected in late April or early May. The twelve jurors will have to rule unanimously, otherwise the trial will be considered void. This scenario, or an acquittal, could spark further protests in Minneapolis. Prosecutions and convictions of police officers for violence committed in the line of duty are rare in the United States.
The city hall, which decided to reform the police force in depth, agreed in mid-March to pay $ 27 million in compensation to the family of George Floyd so that they end their complaint to the civil. Due to the epidemic due to Covid-19, the three other police officers involved in the tragedy, Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao, will be tried in August, for “complicity in murder”.
