Prosecution rests case in Derek Chauvin trial

The prosecution in the trial of former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin rested its case Tuesday morning after calling almost 40 witnesses in more than two weeks of testimony.

Chauvin is charged with second- and third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the May 2020 death of George Floyd. The former officer is accused of causing Floyd’s death by kneeling on his neck for almost nine minutes.

Over the course of 11 days, the prosecution called 38 witnesses to testify, including police officers, bystanders, paramedics and use-of-force experts, according to a tally by USA Today. The jury also watched footage captured by bystanders, surveillance and body cameras, which illustrated the key moments around Floyd’s arrest.

The defense began its case on Tuesday, with attorney Eric Nelson first calling former Minneapolis Police Officer Scott Creighton, who arrested Floyd in a separate incident in May 2019, to the stand.

The prosecution’s final day of testimony on Monday featured emotional remarks from Philonise Floyd, George Floyd’s younger brother, who recalled the close relationship between his brother and their mother.

“I miss both of them,” he said, adding of the two, “Every mother loves all of her kids, but it was so unique how they were with each other.”

“He just was like a person everybody loved around the community. He just knew how to make people feel better,” Floyd added.

The prosecution also called pulmonologist Martin Tobin to the stand last week, where he gave testimony that provided jurors information about Floyd’s ability to breathe while under restraint.

Tobin rejected the impact fentanyl had on Floyd’s breathing just before he lost consciousness, and pushed back against assertions that preexisting health conditions caused his death. 

The prosecution called paramedics to the stand in the first week of the trial, who painted a somber picture of an unresponsive Floyd shortly after they arrived at the scene.

Paramedic Derek Smith told prosecutor Erin Eldridge that he thought Floyd was dead after checking for his pulse and examining his pupils at the scene.

“In lay terms, I thought he was dead,” Smith testified.

Smith said that Floyd did not have a pulse, and testified that his pupils were “large” and “dilated.” He added that when he arrived on the scene and walked up to Floyd, he “noticed he wasn’t moving,” and “didn’t see any chest rise or fall on this individual.”

— Updated 11:46 a.m.