The Derek Chauvin murder trial enters Day 9 as testimony continues regarding Chauvin’s use of force during the arrest of George Floyd.
Floyd, an unarmed man who was arrested on suspicion of using a counterfeit bill at a grocery store, died in May after the former police officer knelt on his neck for several minutes, continuing even after Floyd appeared to have lost consciousness.
As previously reported, Chauvin’s defense presented a video on Wednesday in which they claimed Floyd can be heard saying “I ate too many drugs.”
VIDEO: Derek Chauvin’s attorney claims George Floyd said he ‘ate too many drugs’ during fatal arrest
As the Guardian reports, an expert witness in “use-of-force” took the stand again on Wednesday and resisted the defense attorney’s apparent effort to demonstrate the the crowd at the scene of Floyd’s arrest may have posed a risk to the officers.
Sgt. Jody Stiger reportedly insisted that Chauvin used force that was “not objectively reasonable.”
“As the time went on in the video, clearly you could see Mr Floyd’s medical … his health was deteriorating. His breath was getting lower,” Stiger testified, according to the report.
“His tone of voice was getting lower. His movements were starting to cease. So at that point, as an officer on scene, you have a responsibility to realize that, ‘OK, something is not right’. Something has changed drastically from what was occurring earlier, so therefore you have a responsibility to take some type of action.”
Chauvin has pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.