The sixth day of the trial of Derek Chauvin, the former police officer accused of killing George Floyd, introduced two key witnesses to the stand: the physician who spent 30 minutes making an attempt to avoid wasting Mr. Floyd’s life earlier than announcing him useless, and the chief of the Minneapolis Police Department.

Both witnesses offered testimony that would bolster the arguments of the prosecution, which has argued that Mr. Floyd died as a result of Mr. Chauvin knelt on him for greater than 9 minutes, relatively than by issues of drug use or a coronary heart situation. Here are the key takeaways from Monday.

  • Dr. Bradford T. Wankhede Langenfeld, who was a senior resident at the Hennepin County Medical Center, stated he believed that Mr. Floyd died from a lack of oxygen. Mr. Floyd’s trigger of demise will show to be a figuring out issue on this case. The prosecution has maintained that “asphyxia,” or a deficiency of oxygen, brought on Mr. Floyd’s demise. During a cross-examination, Dr. Wankhede Langenfeld informed Eric J. Nelson, Mr. Chauvin’s lawyer, that asphyxia may be brought on by a quantity of components, together with drug use; a toxicology report discovered methamphetamine and fentanyl in Mr. Floyd’s system.

  • Dr. Wankhede Langenfeld’s testimony additionally gave jurors a clearer understanding of what occurred after Mr. Floyd was taken away from the scene of the arrest, at the Cup Foods comfort retailer. Last week, jurors heard from two paramedics who arrived at the scene. One of them, Derek Smith, stated he had tried to revive Mr. Floyd utilizing a number of methods, however that none have been efficient. Mr. Smith stated Mr. Floyd gave the impression to be useless by the time he arrived at Cup Foods.

    On Monday, Dr. Wankhede Langenfeld stated he had tried to avoid wasting Mr. Floyd for about 30 minutes earlier than announcing him useless. Dr. Wankhede Langenfeld stated that, at the time, he seen an overdose as a much less probably trigger of demise as a result of the paramedics who introduced Mr. Floyd to the hospital made no point out of an overdose. In addition, the physician stated that sufferers experiencing cardiac arrest have a 10 to 15 p.c lower of their probability of survival for each minute that C.P.R. shouldn’t be administered. Police officers didn’t administer C.P.R. at the scene, even after Mr. Floyd misplaced consciousness.

  • The chief of the Minneapolis Police Department, Medaria Arradondo, testified on Monday that Mr. Chauvin “absolutely” violated the division’s insurance policies when he knelt on Mr. Floyd for greater than 9 minutes. “Once Mr. Floyd had stopped resisting, and certainly once he was in distress and trying to verbalize that, that should have stopped,” Chief Arradondo stated. The assertion was an unequivocal rebuke of Mr. Chauvin from the chief, and an uncommon show of an performing chief testifying in opposition to a police officer.

    Mr. Chauvin’s protection pushed again on the situation of any potential policy violations, asking Chief Arradondo whether or not law enforcement officials usually have to judge many components when making use of drive to a suspect, corresponding to any potential menace from a close-by crowd. Throughout the trial, Mr. Nelson has pointed to the crowd of bystanders who gathered alongside the sidewalk throughout the arrest, suggesting that they might have hampered Mr. Chauvin’s capability to supply medical support to Mr. Floyd.

  • The court docket additionally heard from Inspector Katie Blackwell, a veteran Minneapolis police officer who stated she has identified Mr. Chauvin for 20 years. Speaking about use-of-force coaching, Inspector Blackwell stated officers must be cautious when holding a handcuffed individual on their abdomen, as a result of the place may make it tough to breathe. Asked when officers ought to take away folks from this place, she stated, “As soon as possible.” Mr. Floyd was saved on his abdomen for greater than 9 minutes, pinned to the floor by Mr. Chauvin’s knee.



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