TRIAL OF FORMER OFFICER DEREK CHAUVIN IN GEORGE FLOYD’S DEATH STARTS MONDAY

Mon 29 March 2021:

The trial for Derek Chauvin, the former US police officer charged with George Floyd’s murder, is set to start in Minneapolis on Monday, almost a year after the African American man’s death stirred a huge protest wave and heated debates about racial justice, police systems and historical past in America and beyond.

A 12-member jury and three alternates are set to hear the case, while testimony in the high-profile trial could last a month.

Floyd, 46, died on May 25 after Chauvin and three other officers arrested him outside a Minneapolis shop, where he was being accused of using a counterfeit $20 bill. A viral video from the scene showed white police officer Chauvin kneeling on Floyd’s neck for over eight minutes, despite the latter’s pleas that he could not breathe, until the man became unresponsive. Floyd died in hospital the same day.

All the four officers involved in the detention were fired and later arrested.

Protestors outside the court where Derek Chauvin stands trial for the death of #GeorgeFloyd ahead of opening statements tomorrow . One young woman tells me whatever the outcome she’s afraid of what might come next #DerekChauvinTrial pic.twitter.com/dKTmi4CD45

— Lebo Diseko (@lebo_diseko) March 28, 2021

The 45-year-old Chauvin, who is white, has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter charges in the death of Floyd, who was 46. If convicted, Chauvin could face years in prison.

Floyd died in custody after gasping that he could not breathe. Aside from claiming his client was following police training in the way the arrest was carried out, Chauvin’s defense attorney, Eric Nelson, is expected to argue that Floyd died from underlying medical conditions, not because Chauvin was holding him down on the street.

The other three officers are facing charges of aiding and abetting their former colleague. They will be tried later.

As for Chauvin’s trial, in an unprecedented order for the state of Minnesota, a judge allowed cameras to film it in its entity to accommodate huge public interest amid COVID-19 restrictions.

Over the last three weeks, the jury was picked to try the case. The panel, including the three alternates, is racially diverse.

It includes six white women, three white men, three Black men, one Black woman and two multiracial women, according to court records.

The ex-police officer, who was involved in three shootings in the past and reportedly used to work for some time as a part-time security guard together with Floyd at the same local club, will be tried by a 15-strong jury. Six of jurors are Black or multiracial.

The trial comes days after the city of Minneapolis agreed to pay $27 million to Floyd’s family to settle legal proceedings over his death in police custody.

Photo: Protestors outside the court where Derek Chauvin stands trial for the death of George Floyd ahead of opening statements.