The murder trial of Derek Chauvin, the former police officer whose alleged killing of George Floyd last year prompted a wave of Black Lives Matter protests, got fully under way with opening arguments in Minneapolis on Monday. An autopsy by the Hennepin county medical examiner’s office ruled Floyd’s death a homicide because he suffered from heart failure brought on by “law enforcement subdual, restraint and neck compression”. He was fired and arrested after Floyd’s death. The defence has said Chauvin was following police training and had no intent to harm Floyd. A vigil was held on Sunday night at the spot where Floyd was killed, a junction in southern Minneapolis now known as George Floyd Square.

Source: The Guardian March 29, 2021 06:22 UTC