On Wednesday afternoon, when Charles McMillian, a witness to the death of George Floyd, broke down while recounting what he saw last May, Judge Peter Cahill called a short recess to allow Mr. McMillian to compose himself. I was the pool reporter in the courtroom, and I walked into the hallway and sat down next to Rodney Floyd, Mr. Floyd’s youngest brother who came from Houston to attend that day’s testimony. Mr. Floyd was in tears, after sitting through another presentation of video footage of his brother’s death. I explained to him that I was representing the news media that day and asked him if he wished to share anything with me about how he was feeling, which I would then in turn share with the rest of the news media — and then of course the wider world — or if he wished that I would leave him in silence. He said he wished to talk, and as soon as I took out my notebook, a sheriff’s deputy walked over and said we were not allowed to talk.

Source: New York Times April 02, 2021 13:30 UTC