chauvin? okay. so, the officer you've just identified with an arrow, is that who you recognized as mr. chauvin? >> yes, ma'am. >> and there were two other officers you described on top of him, is that right? >> yes, ma'am. >> a fourth officer standing at the back of the truck, is that right? >> yes, ma'am. >> if it's okay with you, i'd like to play just a little bit of this video. are you ready for that? >> yes, ma'am. >> okay. go ahead. and this part of the video doesn't have audio, but does that show you in the screen? >> yes, ma'am. >> and at some point do you just step back a little bit out of the frame. is that you walking off right there? >> yes, ma'am. >> we're going to fast forward a little bit. but during this time, you're watching what's going on, you're just not on the frame of this video, is that right? >> yes, ma'am. >> okay. moving forward to 8:21.30, we'll just play a little bit of this here. go ahead. can you come back into frame there? >> let him breathe, man. >> do you see yo

chauvin. [ chanting ] >> reporter: demonstrators taking to the streets demanding justice for floyd. chauvin pleading not guilty to second-degree murder, second-degree manslaughter, and third-degree murder. the incident captured on cell phone and seen around the world in that difficult to watch video. chauvin pinning floyd, his knee on floyd's neck for more than nine minutes. >> juror 44, you will serve on this jury. >> reporter: chauvin in court and taking notes during jury selection. 15 people selected including alternates. the group diverse. six men, nine women, four of them black. two who identify as multiracial. the rest white. one black woman in her 60s during selection indicated she has a very favorable opinion of the black lives matter movement. >> you wrote i am black and my life matters. >> it does. >> absolutely. >> reporter: also selected, a white female nurse in her 50s who treats covid patients. >> i recognize the amount of time that a person can be without air before they're unco

chauvin doing? >> i saw him digging his knee in more, putting a lot of pressure on him. >> what made you think, from your view that mr. chauvin was putting more pressure on george floyd's neck? >> you could see his foot movement. >> when you say digging, are you talking the position of mr. chauvin knee on mr. floyd's neck? >> yes. >> so you come out to see mr. floyd, who looks unconscious to you, what did you see in here going on around you? >> voices telling him to check for a pulse. >> what happened at that time? ... >>. eldridge: after you said that, was there any response did mr. chauvin move? >> no. eldridge: did anybody address the concerns? >> now everyone was hostile. eldridge: when you say hostile, tell us what you mean by that. >> your tone of voice. officer thao voice was very angry. eldridge: was officer thao interacting with people on the street at that point? please wait until i'm done asking before you answer. officer thao appeared hostile. can you describe what you are doing that mad

chauvin to lift up? >> they checked his pulse and his knee still remained on george floyd's neck. >> so, the paramedic checks his pulse and is mr. chauvin still on his neck. then what happened after that? >> the paramedic did a motion like get up, basically telling him to remove his knee. it was still there even unresponsive. .. >> no. when you arrived at the scene you said mr. floyd was crying out and at some point during the period of time when he was under mr. chauvin needed you see him go unconscious? >> yes. blackwell: there is a discussion whether or not he died. >> now. blackwell: did you have, when the paramedics came, they picked up his by from the scene. >> yes. blackwell: do they revive him there? >> now. blackwell: did you see him conscious again? >> now : exhibit 184 in front of you. the bystanders on the sidewalk? >>. : did they step into the street to the officer tell them to get back? >> yes. : today comply with that the officer is asking? >> yes. . >> thank you. good morning. thank you f

chauvin? >> yes. >> what things did you hear were being said to mr. chauvin by the bystanders? >> you are hurting him. are you enjoying this? he can't breathe. he's not moving, his nose is bleeding. you are a bum. >> melissa, those are very specific testimonies. she has the video. she knows what she saw, what she was taping on the video and she explained also why she took the video. >> we have seen throughout the testimony this morning a number of individuals. this checks back with yesterday. a number of people were watching this go down and were disturbed by what they saw. the idea that mr. chauvin spent so much time leaning on mr. floyd seemed excessive, far more than necessary. they also noted this was not just their view of it, that there were a number of people around them in the crowd itself that felt it was unjustified. so they are painting a picture. >> here a another excerpt from donald williams who called 911 and explained why. >> at some point did you make a 911 call? >> that's right. i did call the police on the police. >> why did you do that? >> i believe i witness

chauvin? >> object, your honor, it's assuming facts that are not established. >> overruled, you can answer if you know. do you want him to ask the question again? >> i heard him. no, i did not hear the other officers. >> right. and it's also fair to say that when you first started recording you were one of the few people that were there. right? >> i was the first person to record, the first person -- yeah, sure. >> and by the end of the video there were more people present? >> yes. >> and would you agree that initially when you started recording you weren't saying much, if anything, to the officers. right? >> i don't remember. >> but as time went on, and more people showed up, voices became louder. would you agree with that? >> as we understood more of what was happening. >> and it's -- i just want -- >> what we seen is how we reacted. >> right. >> like you said the video speaks for itself. >> understood and i appreciate that. so you heard various people calling the officers names, right? >> y

chauvin, did you see him? >> yes. >> and how would you describe his body movement or body language at that point? >> kind of angry. >> i'm going to stop you there. tell me what he was doing with his body. >> he was digging his knee into george floyd's neck. >> did you notice anything else about mr. chauvin, reaching for anything or touching his mace or anything? >> he did grab his mace and started shaking it. >> and how did you feel at that point? >> scared. >> why did you feel scared at that point? >> because i didn't know what was going to happen. >> and were you scared of mr. chauvin was scared of mr. floyd or something else? >> i was scared of chauvin. >> at the point that you saw mrs there anybody in your group of witnesses or bystanders that worry, again, being violent or attacking in any way? >> no. >> i'm going to put up exhibit 184, please. you should see that on the screen in front of you. do you see your self in this picture? >> yes. >> can you circle your self in the screen? >> and do you see anyon

, derek chauvin looked up at him. it's the only time he looked at me, when i said it was a blood choke. we looked at each other dead in our eyes. he acknowledged, william said. those are excerpts from the opening day for the killing of george floyd. we come back, we speak to nekima leevy-armstrong, the former president of the minneapolis naacp. stay with us. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ amy: this is democracynow, democracynow.org, the quarantine report. we are looking at the trial of derek chauvin for killing george floyd last may by kneeling on his neck for over nine minutes. 929 to be exact. the trial began monday. we go now to minneapolis where we are joined by a minneapolis-based civil rights attorney and the executive director director of wayfinder foundation. she previously served as president of the minneapolis naacp and a law professor at the university of st. thomas. her new article for b.e.t. is titled, "a guilty verdict for derek chauvin is the only justice acceptable for george floyd." thank you so much for joining us.

chauvin. the other officers will also face trial on different charges later on this year. i want to bring in cbs news contributor ibrahim to put this into broader context. the author of "how to be an anti-racist request the ". ibrahim, so good to have you. thank you. as we take a moment just to reflect, the george -- the murder of george floyd, which is on trial today, sparked a movement in this country that continues to this day. how do you expect this trial to impact that? >> well, i think you have millions of americans who took to the streets, as you know, as we all know, last year because they felt there was all this sort of police violence, all this racism, but most importantly, there wasn't any change, there wasn't people being held accountable. and i think this case in particular is going to sort ofo say to history and say to the american people whether people can g get away with what i woul imagine derek chauvin, you know, did to george floyd, whihich fr my reading was certainly someth

chauvin. we will spend more time with this man during the trial but i wanted to cut to what you are going to see. with that, i'm going to show you the video evidence, i think it will be helpful and meaningful because you can see for yourself without lawyer anything, you can see for yourself. >> on the ground. [inaudible] please. >> please. [inaudible] >> what you want? >> i can't breathe. i can't breathe. >> get in the car. >> my knees. >> i know you are. >> my stomach hurts. i need some water. please. please. i can't breathe. please. between your knee and his neck. >> i can't breathe. [inaudible] >> how long are you going to hold him down? >> put him in the car. >> your knee on his neck. >> your trapping him there. you don't think anybody understands that? stopping breathing right there. get him off the ground. get him off the ground. he's not doing that. he's enjoying that right there. you could have put him in the car by now. he's not resisting arrest or nothing. you know that's bogus right

chauvin. we will spend quite a bit more time on this during the trial, but i just want to try to set the stage for what you're going to see. so, with that i'm going to show you the video evidence. the video evidence i think will be very helpful and meaningful to you, because you can see it for yourself without lawyer talk or anything, you can see it for yourself. he's on the ground. >> please, please i can't breathe. please, man. [background sounds] i can't breathe, man i can't breathe. i can't breathe, please. let him get in the car, man. >> i can't breathe. >> [inaudible] >> my stomach hurts. my neck hurts. everything hurts. please. please. i can't breathe. look at his nose. [inaudible] he's not even resisting arrest, man. he's not doing nothing. how long are you going to hold him down? put him in the car. [inaudible] i trained at the academy. that's b.s., bro. you can get him off the ground, bro. he's not doing nothing. he's enjoying that. you could put him in the car by now. he's not resis

chauvin. ten months ago, floyd died under chauvin's knee. video of his death sparked a national outcry, an international outcry, against police brutality. chauvin is now facing multiple murder charges. he has pleaded not guilty. omar jiminez has covered this trial. preparations for reactions to events inside that courtroom. omar, you witnessed the 8:46 just a couple minutes ago. i was, of course, watching it here as many of our viewers were. intended to highlight just how long chauvin's knee was on george floyd. i wonder as you're there in that city now and there watching this moment unfold, tell us what you heard. what is the mood? what is the tension? >> well, jim, i mean, you didn't have to look hard over the course of those 8:46 when kneeling to show how long of a time that actually was. and, of course, it was meant to be representative of the amount of time that chauvin's knee was on george floyd's neck. and right before that, we heard from members of george floyd's family and their attor

chauvin. he's the former officer charged with killing george floyd. the case of course has drawn worldwide attention, and now the trial is set to be broadcast live. in a moment, we will talk with george floyd's brother and their family's attorney, but first, nbc's gabe gutierrez joins us from the courthouse. hey, gabe, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. after weeks of high drama during jury selection that included a highly unusual $27 million civil settlement and intense security around this courthouse, opening statements are now set to begin here today. >> say his name, george floyd! >> reporter: just hours before what the mayor says is the biggest trial in minneapolis's history, a rally and a vigil in support of george floyd's family. >> this is a similar moment in american history. >> reporter: this morning opening statements are set to begin in the trial of derek chauvin, the former minneapolis poli not guilty to charges of murder and manslaughter, plus a recently added charge of thi

chauvin? >> no. >> and did you think that somebody came across the street to attack or threaten mr. chauvin? you have your camera pointed you were recording. >> correct. >> now you have questions about again the bystanders who were there, and talk with you about that. those bystanders. did you see a single thing that indicated to you l that mr. chauvin was afraid of you your little cousin or single one of the bystanders? >> no. >> you were asked about cars on streets there were cars and cars going -- did you notice mr. chauvin trying to get out of the way of cars? >> no. >> you were also asked about what officers might have been saying to mr. chauvin. do you remember talking about that? >> correct. >> did you hear officers did you hear i in of the officer it is tell mr. chauvin that he didn't have a pulse did you hear him say anything? >> no. >> and you were also asked questions about how as events went on may 25th how you and others may have gotten louder. >> correct. >> so now are you a pers

chauvin, on top of george floyd, what did you see mr. chauvin doing? >> i saw him kind of digging his knee into his neck more. he was putting a lot of pressure on his neck that wasn't needed. >> and how could you tell -- or what made you think from your point of view that mr. chauvin was putting more pressure on george floyd's neck? >> you could see, like, his foot movement. >> so, when you say digging, are you talking about the position of mr. chauvin's knee on mr. floyd's neck? >> yes. >> so, you come out to see mr. floyd, who looks unconscious to you. what else do you see in here going on around you? >> the witnesses telling him to check for a pulse. >> and what happened at that point? did you -- did you see anybody check for a pulse or do anything -- >> no, not that i saw. >> did you see mr. chauvin or anybody else move or change -- or get up off mr. floyd? >> no. >> were you concerned at that point in time? >> yes. >> were you saying anything once you got into that group of people? >> yes. i asked why are you guys still on top of him? he's not doi

chauvin, did you ever see mr. chauvin do negative to offer care toin mr. floyd? >> no. did he let up or get up so he could breathe? >> no. >> did he ever try to administer cpr? >> t did he call incline to aidn mr. floyd? >> no. >> did he call out to ask in anybody bystanders who might be tiebl help? >> not at all. at what point did you see let me ask this. his ambulance some point arrive at the scene? >> yes. >> you saw the ambulance arrive there. >> yes. >> roughly how many minutes after you first started watching what wasas happening to mr. flo, did the ambulance show up? the video was about ten minutes maybe somewhere around -- not sure. >> there was there any point nir iten minutes that mr. chauvin ever let up or got up off of the neck of mr. floyd that you saw? >> no, if negative he did harder because he was -- shoving his knee in his neck like he was -- >> so what did your experience and bystanders cried out that mr. chauvin kneeled even harder is that what you're saying? >> can you repeat -- rephrase that. >> you told us it looked look mr. chauvin was kneeling in

the derek chauvin trial has also just resumed from their lunch break. the cross-examination of the 911 dispatcher. let's listen. >> describe four areas that you do, correct? >> correct. >> as i understand it, the first area is there are days or shifts where you may be the actual call taker, is that correct? >> correct. >> so as a call taker, someone -- a citizen calls 911, you pick up the phone and respond to whatever that call for service is, is that correct? >> correct. >> and then you'll type it into a system, that information will get sent over to a dispatcher, correct? >> correct. >> and the dispatcher is the person who is in charge of communicating with and assigning officers to calls, correct? >> correct. >> and there are days when you show up for work and you're assigned to be the dispatcher, correct? >> correct. >> you also described a third part of your job is to be the fire dispatcher, which is separate from police. >> correct. >> now, in preparation for trial, i believe on march 2nd, you met with members of the prosecution team, correct? >>

derek chauvin betrayed this badge. he used excessive and unreasonable force. >> derek chauvin did exactly what he had been trained to do. use of force is not attractive, but it is a necessary component of policing. >>> this is the starting point. this is not a finishing point. >> announcer: this is "new day" with alisyn camerota and john berman. >> we want to welcome your viewers in t united states and all around the world, this is "new day." it's tuesday, march 30th, 6:00 a.m. here in new york. john berman is off. john avlon is with me. great to have you here. >> good to see you. good morning. >> so this morning president biden and the head of the cdc are so concerned about the next phase in the pandemic that they are bagging americans to keep taking precautions for just a little while longer. the warning comes as the u.s. surpasses 550,000 deaths. >> now is one of those times when i have to share the truth and i have to hope and trust you will listen. i'm going to pause here. i'm going to lose the script and i'm goin

chauvin did not rise. an ambulance arrived. chauvin did not rise. in the end, after medical technicians found floyd to be unresponsive, chauvin stood up. george floyd died with derek chauvin's knee on his neck. it was all captured on video. the question here is what more does anyone need? joining me now is the founder and president of the national action network, reverend al sharpton, host of "politics nation" on msnbc. tonight he along with ben krump will join the floyd family for a prayer vigil and rally. last year he delivered george floyd's eulogy at the family's request. this is going to be a fraught moment in minneapolis. i'm here in front of the courthouse where this will take place. as you've seen, there's fencing all around this courthouse. high security. and a lot of uncertainty what this trial will hold. what are you looking for? >> we're looking for justice. i think that when you look at the fact over the last several years -- half a decade ago or more to now. the question is, one, the evidence against chauvin and this particular case th

chauvin. thank you. now you had at some point told us you were there when the endless came. >> yes. >> did mr. chauvin get off of mr. floyd when the angels arrived a? >> no. the ambulance had to actually tell him to lift up. >> so the evidence arrives and doesn't and goes person get out right away and come over to ask mr. chauvin to lift up or to something else happened about. >> was he took pulse first while his knee still remained on george floyd snack. >> all right. the paramedic checks his pulse. with mr. chauvin still on his neck. then what happened after that? >> the paramedic was come he did like in like a motion, like get up, telling him, basically telling him to remove his knee. his knee was even there, even at the end, even unresponsive. >> did mr. chauvin get up at the time? >> yes. >> as you were observing the entire scene, did you observe mr. floyd do anything that you felt was threatening to any of the police officers? >> no. >> did you see him do anything other than call out in anguish? >>

chauvin. we will spend quite a bit more time with this map during the trial but just for now i wanted to try to set the stage for what you are going to see. so with that i'm going to show you the video evidence. the video evidence i think will be very helpful and meaningful to you because you can see it for yourself without lawyer talk, lawyer or anything. you see it for yourself. yourself. he's on the ground. >> please, please i can't breathe. please, man. [background sounds] i can't breathe, man i can't breathe. i can't breathe, please. let him get in the car, man. >> i can't breathe. >> [inaudible] >> my stomach hurts. my neck hurts. everything hurts. please. please. i can't breathe. look at his nose. [inaudible] he's not even resisting arrest, man. he's not doing nothing. how long are you going to hold him down? put him in the car. [inaudible] i trained at the academy. that's b.s., bro. you can get him off the ground, bro. he's not doing nothing. he's enjoying that. you could put him in th

chauvin is doing. you will be able to compare how he looks in this photograph to how he looked in the first 4:45. same position. doesn't let up, and you will see he doesn't get up. the paramedic comes over, he checks mr. floyd for a pulse. he has to check him for a pulse, you'll see, but mr. chauvin remaining on his body at the same time. doesn't get up even when the paramedic comes to check for a pulse. you will see they have taken the gurney out of the ambulance, and mr. chauvin still does not let up or get up. you will see it wasn't until such time as they start, they want to move the lifeless body of george floyd on to the gurney only then does he let up and get up and you will see him drag mr. floyd's body and unceremoniously cast it on to the gurne yerks. that was for a total of 4:44. you can see here that for the first 4:45 you will learn that he was calling out crying for his life. and not just mr. floyd. you're going to hear and see any number of bystanders there that were calling to let up an

chauvin was arrested. the images of george floyd on the ground begging for his life ripped open america's unhealed wounds on race and how black americans are policed. people took to the streets in cities across this country, sparking the biggest protest movement since the civil rights days. the events engulfed the white house and reverberated across the world, forcing a global reckoning on racism. nojustice, no peace! prosecute the police! for people in minneapolis, the start of the trial brings both hope and trepidation. this is not the first, you know, incidence of police brutality that has never seenjustice, so i'm optimistic, but also i don't get my hopes up too high. i wantjustice to be served, but i don't know for sure if that will happen. and if it doesn't, ijust fear the reactions and the kickback that might happen. what do we want? justice! when do we want it? now! — this is the first time that a white police officer in this state will stand trial for the murder of a black person. chauvin's lawy

chauvin. the trial getting underway today here in minneapolis. mr. chauvin charged in the death of george floyd who died while being arrested by police officers. mr. chauvin seen in the video with his knee on the neck of mr. floyd. trial expected to last most of today and the week and we will have live coverage here on c-span2. again a bit of recess here. they expect to start up in just a few minutes. our live coverage will continue then here on c-span2. [silence] [silence] [silence] [silence] [silence] [silence] [silence] [silence] [silence] [silence] >> we are on the record. just looking out, i muted the microphones at counsel table. i figured you would prefer that for trial, so i think if you could use the podium for our first motion that we have today, then we will proceed to openings at 9:30. we have all 15 jurors are here so we're keeping this number 15. the last one chosen and so we will go with the 14 others. we have seating chart that mr. schafer will put them in their seats to start

chauvin may 25, that day? >> yes. >> exhibit 40 and 41. >> received. >> published exhibit 40, before we press play, one of these videos contain a composite, a video showing you as well as mr. chauvin perspective on body cam, is that right? be met yes. >> let's play 40. is that you walk in? >> yes, ma'am. [inaudible] [inaudible] [inaudible] >> we can posit that but that's difficult to hear. what were you saying? >> i can't recall but in my mind i said to mr. chauvin, i think it was like five days ago, i think i said to him five days ago i told you the bad guys look at you as a maggot. >> so your interaction continued with him over these two clips. did you move your card? >> i did. >> did you also have another conversation with him? >> i think so. >> initially did you mark about his foot on his neck or something? >> i can't recall. >> but it's there in the video. >> yes. >> it can be difficult to hear. exhibit 41, please. >> there still with you. >> that's one person's opinion. [inaudible] >> get in the car. [in

they are set to begin the trial of derek chauvin.

chauvin is on trial. america is on trial right now. minneapolis, minnesota, they will have to get this right. we're tired of people being killed and slaughtered for anything. i'm not anti-police, but there have been a lot of killings by police officers and not just in minneapolis. all across america. we will get justice. we have to get justice because if you can't get justice for this as a black man in america, what can you get justice for in america, then? >> derek chauvin's defense suggested the former officer was not responsible for mr. floyd's death at all but that george floyd died due to a combination of underlying health conditions and being high on drugs. the judge will also allow testimony from floyd's prior arrest in 2019. as chauvin's lawyers try to show similarities between the two events. cnn legal analyst laura coates responded to that. >> the idea here when you look at what evidence to enter in, you have to do this thing where you're comparing the prejudicial value of it versus the probative value. to me, the prejudice t

because this is the trial of derek chauvin. breaking news, this is the trial of derek chauvin. let's talk about his record. his 19 complaints of excessive force by citizens here in meps minne minneapolis. george floyd didn't kill anybody. derek chauvin was the person that killed george floyd. so why is it we will allow them to assassinate the character of george floyd after they've assassinated his person. you know, they taught me in law school that if you have the facts on your side then by all means, argue the facts. but then they say, if the facts ain't really with you, then try to assassinate your opponent's character as a way to hopefully distract everybody from focusing in on the facts. well, everybody please do not be distracted. the facts are simple. what killed george floyd was an overdose of excessive force. the transcript from all intelligence is clear, the manner and cause of death was asphyxiation by homicide. as they say in the hood, they choked him. it was a knee choke. and so, let's remember the facts here. this murder case is not hard. just look at the tortured

is fact that derek chauvin, i mean, put his hand in his pocket. reverend al and the family of george floyd, we kneeled yesterday for a symbolic 8 minutes and 46 seconds which we thought was the amount of time that derek chauvin had his knee on george floyd's neck. when we were down there, it became very challenging and at times painful. so what that told us is that you had to be intentional in what you were doing. you couldn't hold that position unless you intended to. and if i was prosecuprosecuting case, i would ask my jury in summation, get on one knee and let's time it for 9 minutes and 29 seconds and tell me that is not intent for you to stay in that position. >> what did you figure the defense argument today that the bystanders who were watching, they were angry, they were threatening, they claimed they were unruly. they said that was a distraction to the police officer. what was your reaction when you heard that? >> it's amazing to me. i knew they were going to attempt to assassinate the character of george floyd, they were going to say he

chauvin get up? >> no. eldridge: with mr. chauvin still on mr. floyd at that point? >> yes and remained on him the entire time until paramedics came. eldridge: did you get a chance to look at mr. chauvin while you were there? >> yes. eldridge: what was he doing? where was he looking? >> most of the time i saw him i didn't see him take his eyes off of george for the most part. eldridge: did you notice what mr. chauvin is doing with his body? >> i saw him put more and more weight on him. eldridge: how can you tell that? >> i saw his back foot lift off the ground. in his hands go into his pockets. eldridge: what did you see change about mr. chauvin position to make you think that? >> repeat the question. eldridge: bad question. how did what mr. chauvin was doing naked look to you like he was putting more weight on mr. floyd? >> i saw him move his knee down. eldridge: when you say mr. chauvin knee move down more, what you talking about? >> down onto mr. floyd's neck. eldridge: what we you doing when you are watching all of this happened? >> i was recording and telling hi

chauvin? >> yes. >> what things did you hear that were being said to mr. chauvin by the bystanders. >> you're hurting him, are you enjoying this, he can't breathe, he's not moving, his nose is bleeding, you're a bum. pretty much words around that category. >> and when you arrived at the scene can you describe for us first of all what was the position of mr. floyd when you arrived at the scene and saw him by the squad car? >> he was laid down on the ground restrained. it didn't look like he could move much, but his head. >> by restrained was he in handcuffs? >> yes. >> by restrained where was mr. chauvin in relation to mr. floyd? >> he was -- his knee was kneeling on his neck. it was two other officers holding him down as well. >> and what did you hear or see mr. floyd doing while he was being restrained underneath, as you described, the knee of mr. chauvin? >> he was complaining about -- he was stating that he was in pain, he said his neck, his back, everything hurts. i can't breathe. mom. he

derek chauvin is on trial notic george floyd. he says legalisms the site for a moment and think about that. how could anyone treat a fellow human being with such little regard for his life? after he stopped moving, stopped breathing. floyd post noted anyone let alone to the heavy armed police officers who surrounded him. to keep an inert man m.o.a. to make a point to the bystanders, black and white who witnessed the whole thing. he goes on to write eric nelson predictably used his opening statement to try to make floyd the defendant and onlookers his accomplices. several times he highlighted floyd's physical size which should come to no surprise here throughout u.s. history the idea of a black man as superhuman in their strength and subhuman and how they use it has been used to justify our restraint, our incarceration, our lynchings. doug in fairfax south dakota. good morning. go ahead. >> good morning, greta. [inaudible] the adrenaline flowing it ticked me off come in other words. through my life i've worked hard and when i was

chauvin. we will spend quite a bit more time with this map during the trial but just for now i wanted to try to set the stage for what you are going to see. so with that, i'm going to show you the video evidence. i think it will be very helpful and meaningful to you because you can see it for yourself without lawyer talk or lawyer spin or lawyer anything, you can see it for yourself. [george floyd speaking] >> he is on the ground. >> please, please, please, i can't breathe. please, man, please. oh, oh, oh, please, man. i can't breathe. >> you've got him down, let him breathe at least, man. >> i'm trying to help out. let him breathe, man. >> i can't breathe. >> what do you want? >> i can't breathe. please. i can't breathe here. >> get up and get in the car, man. get up and get in the car. get up. get in the car. >> i can't breathe. my knee. >> i know you are in there. listen. >> my stomach hurts. my neck hurts. everything hurts. please. please. oh, i can't breathe. i can't breathe. >> you get o

she testified in the trial of derek chauvin today. the judge did not allow her and other young witnesses today to be shown on camera in the trial. as we heard her voice for the first time today, we heard someone who doesn't feel like a hero, she just feels sorry. >> when i look at george floyd, i look at my dad, i look at my brothers, i look at my cousins, my uncles, because they are all black. i have a black father, i have a black brother, i have black friends. i look at that and i look at how that could have been one of them. it's the nights i stayed up apologizing and apologizing to george floyd for not doing more and not physically interacting and not saving his life. but it's not what i should have done, it's what he should have done. >> darnella frazier is so right. it is about what he should have done, it is about what derek chauvin should have done. that is what this trial is about. and there it is true beyond a reasonable doubt, thanks to darnella frasier's video, that derek chauvin should have taken his knee off george floyd

chauvin received. you are going to hear that he was a veteran on the minneapolis police department for 19 years, had been trained in cpr multiple times at the time. and you will be able to see for yourself that when mr. floyd was in distress, mr. chauvin wouldn't help him, didn't help him. but you will also see that he stopped anybody else from being able to help him. you will learn that amongst the bystanders was a first responder, a member of the minneapolis fire department, who was trained in administering first-aid and emergency care and she will come and talk with you, jen veefsh hanson. she wanted to check on him and wanted him to let up and get up and did her best the intervene to be able to act to intercede on george floyd's behalf and you can see for yourself when she approached mr. chauvin on top of george floyd with both of his knees reached for his mace in his belt and pointed in her direction so she couldn't help. she will come and talk to you about that experience. now, you are going to l

chauvin get up at that point? >> no. >> did -- so, was mr. chauvin's knee still on top of mr. floyd at that point? >> yes, his knee remained on him the entire time until paramedics came. >> okay. and did you get a chance to look at mr. chauvin while you were there? >> yes. i did look at him. >> and what -- what was he doing? where was he looking? >> most of the time, i saw him staring at george. i didn't really see him take his eyes off of him for the most part. >> did you notice anything about what mr. chauvin was doing with his body? >> yes. at one point, i saw him put more and more weight on to him. >> and how could you tell that? >> i saw his back foot or leg lift off the ground and his hands go in his pocket. >> so, can you just describe a little more of what you saw, you know, you're describing the leg movement and what you're describing as a hand in the pocket. what did you see change about the way mr. chauvin's body position was to make you think that? >> could you repeat the question? >> sorry. it was a bad question. how did it change? how did what mr. chauvin was doi

derek chauvin betrayed his badge. when he used excessive and unreasonable force upon the body of mr. george floyd. that he put his knees upon his neck and his back, grinding and crushing him until the very breath, no, ladies and gentlemen, until the very life was squeezed out of him. you will learn that he was well aware that mr. floyd was unarmed, that mr. floyd had not threatened anyone, that mr. floyd was in handcuffs, he was completely in the control of the police. he was defenseless. you will learn what happened in that nine minutes and 29 seconds, the most important numbers you'll hear in this trial 929 what happened in those 9 minutes and 29 seconds when mr. derek chauvin was applying this excessive force to the body of mr. george floyd. >> that was the minnesota special assistant attorney general jerry blackwell making the case against derek chauvin. now, the attorney for derek chauvin also addressed the death of george floyd in his opening statement. here is what he had to say. >> the evidence will show then

chauvin received. he is also going to tell you that he knows of no training that would suggest that kneeling on somebody's neck as mr. chauvin was doing was proper according to minneapolis police department training. you will learn officers are trained to avoid putting pressure on areas that are above the areas of the shoulder, on the spinal column, on the neck, on the head and that to do that is using deadly force because if you are putting pressure or blows in those areas, you run the risk of seriously injuring the person or potentially even killing them. it could be deadly force. they are trained not to do that. above all, the police are trained in the side recovery position. if you put somebody in the prone position to get them under control, you opportunity them over on the side as soon as possible so you don't obstruct their airways by having them on the stomach where the lungs can't expand. you put them in side recovery position right away. you will hear all about the importance of that. we will

chauvin get up? >> no. >> was mr. chauvin's knee still on mr. floyd? >> yes, he remained on him the entire time until the paramedics came. >> did you get a chance to look at mr. chauvin while you were there? >> yes, i didn't -- i did look at him. >> what was he doing? where was he looking? >> most of the time i saw him staring at george, i didn't see him take his eyes off him for the most part. >> did you notice anything about what mr. chauvin was doing with his body? >> at one time he put more and more weight on to him. >> how could you tell that? >> i saw his back foot lift off the ground and hands in his pocket. >> can you describe more what you saw, what you are describing with his leg lifts and hands in his pocket, what did you see change about the way his body position was displaying this? >> could you repeat the question. >> how did it change? how did it look to you he is putting more weight on mr. floyd? >> i kind of saw him move his knee down more, a little movement. >> when you say you saw his knee move down more, what are you talking more? d

derek chauvin betrayed this badge. when he used excessive and unreasonable force upon the body of mr. george floyd. >> reporter: the prosecution's opening statement tells you everything you need to know about how they want the jury to see this case. >> 9:29. the three most important numbers in the case. >> reporter: 9 minutes and 29 seconds. the excruciating time george floyd's neck was under then-officer derek chauvin's knee. >> this case is not about split-second decision-making. >> reporter: and to help make that point, prosecutor jerry blackwell, played one of the videos for the jury. >> relax. >> man, i can't breathe. >> what do you want? >> i can't breathe. >> you will see, he does not let up and he does not get up. you will learn that mr. chauvin is told that they can't even find a pulse. >> reporter: the first witness, a 911 dispatcher. showing she was watching surveillance video of floyd being pinned down that day. >> i don't know. you can call me a snitch if you want to but we have the cameras up for -- >> my

chauvin, why did you feel the need to talk to mr. chauvin? >> because what i watched was wrong. >> did you feel it was important to tell him that >> yes, ma'am. >> mr. nelson? >>> you are watching a sidebar moment there before the defense decides whether or not to re-examine, or examine, or cross examine charles mcmillan he just finished his testimony with the prosecution, very compelling to what he saw that day regarding george floyd and derek chauvin. meagan fitzgerald is outside the courthouse for us, joyce vance, former attorney and msnbc contributor and host of cross conviction an emotional one that had to see a break. sorry, joyce, we'll have to jump in i apologize. i'm so sorry let's cross back into the courtroom. >> you may step down if you can take the bottle of water with you, that would be great. >> we're done? >> we're done. thank you for coming in. sidebar? >> joyce, i'm going to let you finish that. to tell our viewers what they saw there charles mcmillan has been dismissed and the defense decided not to cross examine him. i'll

chauvin and mr. floyd, was it that kind of blood choke you thought you were seeing on one side of the neck? >> objection. misleading. >> that is correct. >> overruled. >> mr. nelson asked you about seeing times when somebody has been unconscious in a mixed martial arts fight and come to and tried to wrestle again. or fight again. when an opponent is rendered unconscious through something like a chokehold in a mixed martial arts fight, is the fight stopped? >> right away. immediately. medical attention right away. >> mr. nelson asked you about dealing with crowds that are upset in your experience as a security guard. >> yes. >> when you're dealing with a crowd that is upset, are there ways to try to de-escalate the situation without using force? >> that is correct. >> like what kinds of things can you do? >> really staying calm, being humane, talking to the person, trying to talk them down, just getting the person away from the situation, just being humane with the person is what worked for me in down

officer chauvin was there when that case happened. as part of the settlement, they were supposed to train all the officers to avoid situations like this. hearing officer chauvin's counsel saying he was doing what he was trained to do, i think we're going to hear a lot of to evidence to the contrary. >> let's talk about the defense strategy, jeff, while i have you. they argued today that there were other factors that could have contributed to floyd's death, including hypertension, coronary disease, drug use. does the floyd family fear that george floyd will actually be put on trial instead of derek chauvin? >> well, i think every black family in america feels that way, wolf. that seems to be what always happens is instead of talking about the actual defendant, we talk about the deceased whenever it's a black person in america. so of course they feel that way, but i think given the overwhelming support and love that they felt from the world, i think they really have a lot of faith that these jurors are not going to fall for a sleight of

chauvin a fair trial. mr. chauvin and presumption of innocence, he's presumed to be innocent until proven guilty. we plan to prove to you beyond reasonable doubt that mr. chauvin was anything other than innocent may 25 of 2020. second objective is to bring you, which i'm trying to preview this morning. we are bringing this case, this prosecution against mr. chauvin for excessive force he applied onto the body of mr. george floyd, engaging in behavior that was imminently dangerous in the force he applied without regard or impact of the life of mr. george floyd. let's focus on what we learn about this nine minutes and 29 seconds and you will be able to hear mr. ford saying please, i can't breathe. please, man. please. this nine minutes and 29 seconds, you will see mr. floyd is handcuffed on the ground, he verbalized 27 times you will hear in the four minutes and 45 seconds i can't breathe, please, i can't breathe. he will see mr. chauvin is kneeling on mr. floyd's neck and back, his knee on his back is off and o