Defense Rests in George Floyd Murder Trial; Derek Chauvin Takes the 5th

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The defense rested its case Thursday in the trial of former Minneapolis, Minnesota police officer Derek Chauvin for the death of George Floyd last May, with Chauvin exercising his Fifth Amendment rights and declining to testify himself.

The trial unfolded over two weeks, with the prosecution arguing that Chauvin’s decision to kneel on the handcuffed Floyd was both a departure from reasonable police procedure, and the cause of Floyd’s death after nine minutes in that position.

However, the prosecution did not seem to have a clear idea of what injury caused Floyd’s death — whether a blocking of Floyd’s carotid artery, or the constriction of his airways, or the failure to heed Floyd’s pleas that he could not breathe. The prosecution also moved from accusing Chauvin as kneeling on Floyd’s neck to describing the him as kneeling on Floyd’s “neck area.” Prosecutors also struggled to rule out the role of fentanyl, methamphetamine, or heart disease in Floyd’s death.

The defense argued that Chauvin’s actions were reasonable, given the circumstances — especially Floyd’s initial resistance, his consumption of drugs, and the intimidating behavior of members of a crowd that had taunted the police officers. The defense also argued that there were many contributing factors to Floyd’s death during his arrest– including exposure to carbon monoxide from a police vehicle — such that Chauvin could not be held criminally liable beyond a reasonable doubt.

On Thursday, Chauvin told Hennepin County Judge Peter A. Cahill that he would exercise his right not to testify. He also publicly told his lawyer, Eric Nelson, that he understood the legal issues involved, including the risks of not testifying: