While closing arguments continue in the trial of Derek Chauvin, a former Minneapolis police officer who was charged in the death of George Floyd, the prosecutor told jurors that the case is not against all law enforcement. They call policing a ‘noble’ profession spoiled by bad officers.
“To be very clear, this case is called the state of Minnesota versus Derek Chauvin. This case is not called the state of Minnesota to the police. It is not,” prosecutor Steve Schleicher told the court Monday. “Policing is a noble profession and it is a profession. You met several police officers in Minneapolis during this trial. You met them. They took the stand. They testified.”
“Make no mistake, this is not a prosecution of the police. It is a prosecution of the accused,” he continued. “And there is nothing worse for a good police force than a bad police force that does not follow the rules, that does not follow the procedure, that does not follow training, that ignores the policy of the department.”
LIVE UPDATES: DEREK CHAAVVIN TRIAL CLOSURE ARGUMENTS BEGIN WITH MINNESOTA ON EDGE
Schleicher pointed out that the department’s motto is ‘to serve with courage, to serve with compassion’, and the current Minneapolis police chief, Medaria Arradondo, has taken the position to testify about what the badge carries over his heart. has on public trust and professional rules and codes of conduct regarding the use of force, decalcification tactics, crisis intervention and other policies.
In his closing remarks, Schleicher also confirmed: “George Floyd is not right here.”
“We need to be clear – this is not the trial of George Floyd. George Floyd is not on trial here,” the prosecutor said. ‘You’ve heard a few things about George Floyd, that he’s struggling with drug addiction, that he’s being investigated for allegedly passing on a fake $ 20 bill, and that there was never any evidence he had in the first place. place know it was fake. but he does not stand trial, he did not stand trial when he lived and he does not stand trial here. ‘
In this image from the video, prosecutor Steve Schleicher delivers closing arguments as Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill presides at the trial of Derek Chauvin, a former Minneapolis police officer, on Monday, April 19, 2021. (Court TV via AP, Pool)
The prosecutor repeatedly referred to the 9 minutes and 29 seconds that Chauvin saw in a viral bystander video that pushed his knee into Floyd’s back and neck in May last year, while Schleicher argued that the officer “should have known” that he pushes life out of Floyd while pleading he can not breathe.
“George Floyd’s last words on May 25, 2020, were ‘Please, I can not breathe.’ And he said these words to Mr. Officer, ‘” Schleicher said. “He asked for help with his last breath. The accused kept hearing him say. He heard him, but he just did not listen. He continued to push himself down, to grind in him, to sway, to turn his hand for 9 minutes and 29 seconds. He begs. George Floyd begs until he can no longer speak, and the accused continues this assault. ‘
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But 9 minutes and 29 seconds is not the right analysis, Chauvin’s defender Eric Nelson resisted, ignoring the previous 16 minutes and 59 seconds and trying to give what a reasonable police officer would do, given the fight. and the suspect’s response to previous use of force. When Nelson began speaking, Chauvin removed his COVID-19 mask one of the few times during the trial before the jury.
“Human behavior is unpredictable and no one knows it better than a police officer. Someone can comply one second and fight the next,” Nelson said. “A reasonable police officer continues to judge.”
In this image from the video, Derek Chauvin, former Minneapolis police officer, listens as his defense attorney Eric Nelson delivers closing remarks as Judge Peter Cahill presides in Hennepin County on Monday, April 19, 2021. (TV via TV, AP, Pool)
To understand the whole of the circumstances, Nelson said one should consider what information a reasonable police officer knew at the time of dispatch. He said the initial information a police officer would have in his group car was that a company, Cup Foods, had asked for help after a man suggested a counterfeit $ 20 bill, and that the individual was still on the sitting across the street. of blue Mercedes, and that he was more than 6 feet tall and possibly under the influence.
The duel arguments began with Minneapolis against a repeat of the violence that erupted in the city and around the U.S. this past spring due to Floyd’s death. Civil unrest continued over the past week, also in response to the police-involved shooting of another black man in the nearby Brooklyn Center during a traffic stop on April 11th.
In the separate case, former officer Kim Potter is charged with second-degree manslaughter in the death of 20-year-old Daunte Wright. Police Chief Tim Gannon, who later resigned, said he believed Potter grabbed her gun incorrectly when she went to her Taser. She can hear on her body camera video shouting: ‘Taser! Taser! ‘
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Security concerns were raised this past weekend after gunfire erupted at a Minnesota National Guard security team and Minneapolis police station. Two national guards sustained minor injuries. Operation Safety Net presents an update on safety measures in the Twin Cities on Monday afternoon.
The court continues Monday to refute prosecutor Jerry Blackwell.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.