Today wraps up the first week of testimony in the trial of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer who is accused of killing George Floyd by kneeling on his neck for more than nine minutes. His death prompted weeks of protests nationwide.
“I didn’t detect a pulse. ... I thought he was dead,” paramedic Seth Bravinder told the jury this week. He was one of the paramedics first called to the scene outside of Cup Foods on May 25, 2020.
Bystanders and other witnesses, including mixed martial arts fighter Donald Williams and 18-year-old Darnella Frazier, took to the stand. Frazier recorded Floyd’s death on her phone and uploaded it to Facebook — a video that became seen around the world.
Prosecutors also showed footage from the incident, including body camera video from three other police officers on the scene during the incident. The trial is expected to run at least through the end of April.