Story at a glance
- Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo commented that Derek Chauvin’s arresting tactics were not departmental policy.
- Neck restraints are only intended to apply light-to-moderate pressure.
- “That action is not deescalation.”
The high-profile trial of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer facing murder and manslaughter charges in the death of George Floyd, continues this week.
Floyd died in May 2020 during an arrest after Chauvin knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes, despite Floyd’s pleas for air.
The testimony of Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo was particularly critical of Chauvin.
The city’s top police officer told jurors Monday that Chauvin “absolutely” violated the department’s policy when he restrained Floyd — and Chauvin’s actions go against “our ethics and values.”
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“That action is not deescalation,” he said, regarding Chauvin’s tactic of kneeling on Floyd’s neck. “And when we talk about the framework of our sanctity of life and when we talk about the principles and values, that…action goes contrary to what we are taught.”
Arradondo further elaborated that Chauvin’s maneuver was not part of the department’s neck restraint policy or defensive tactics technique.
“A conscious neck restraint by policy mentions light to moderate pressure,” he testified. “When I look at the facial expression of Mr. Floyd, that does not appear, in any way shape or form, that is light to moderate pressure.”
He concluded to lead prosecutor Steve Schleicher that Chauvin’s maneuver violated departmental policy.
Floyd died following the police encounter, with the official autopsy reading that Floyd died of cardiopulmonary arrest. An independent autopsy concluded that Floyd died of “asphyxiation from sustained pressure” and that his death was a homicide.
The doctor who pronounced Floyd dead also testified on Monday that his likely cause of death was asphyxiation, or a lack of oxygen, which furthers the prosecution’s case against Chauvin and his tactics.
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