MINNEAPOLIS - Officer Derek Chauvin had his knee on George Floyd’s neck area — and was bearing down with most of his weight — the entire 9 1/2 minutes the Black man lay facedown with his hands cuffed behind his back, a use-of-force expert testified Wednesday at Chauvin’s murder trial. Chauvin attorney Eric Nelson countered by pointing out what he said were moments in the video footage when Chauvin’s knee did not appear to be on Floyd’s neck but on his shoulder blade area or the base of his neck. Stiger did not give much ground, saying the officer’s knee in some of the contested images still seemed to be near Floyd’s neck, though he agreed his weight might have shifted at times. Stiger agreed it was reasonable for Chauvin to come to the scene with a heightened sense of awareness. Reyerson testified that Chauvin’s knee was on Floyd’s neck for minutes after Floyd went silent.

Source: thestar April 07, 2021 03:57 UTC