Day 4 -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qz_BwDvd6CwVery important day for both sides of the case, but the prosecution called some critical witnesses which helped their case out by a landslide. If you're keeping score, the prosecution definitely came on top as the winner today.
So one of the issues that I saw, and everyone else basically, was that Chauvin did not check for a pulse nor did he start chest compressions when Floyd was unresponsive. Realistically, this was about 2-3 minutes until Floyd's final movement and until the ambulance arrived. The prosecution had paramedics testify today, the same paramedics that took Floyd and put him into the ambulance.
They each testified that they arrived on scene with the officers still restraining Floyd, and that the officers didn't move until the stretcher was on the ground. One paramedic testified that the officers were of "help" to him when loading on Floyd onto the stretcher. The other paramedic was more scornful it seems like, seeming to imply that chest compressions should have started before they even arrived on scene. And hey, it is absolutely true. You don't have a pulse, you start chest compressions.
The defense angle here is that Chauvin was focused on the crowd, and because the crowd deemed itself to be a threat, that was a focus over giving medical help/chest compressions. Not the best argument (in fact, terrible), but is it perhaps reasonable? Maybe? Look back to the transcript of the body worn camera.
You hear Alexander Kueng "I don't feel a pulse." Chauvin is looking at the crowd while they're yelling, looks to Kueng and says "Huh?". Kueng does not repeat himself, and Chauvin continues looking at the crowd. So it might have been a miscommunication here which is why chest compressions were not started.
Could you say that Chauvin was negligent because he did not do chest compressions? Yes, I think you could. Is it important to consider outside factors? Sure -- you look at the fact that they called for code 3 response, which means stepping up paramedics and getting them to the scene ASAP. So medical care was inbound. You also have to take into account an aggressive crowd and what role that had in diverting any attention of the officers. The defense made the argument when questioning one of the witnesses, a former police sgt. on Chauvin's shift, that other threats/dangers have a higher priority than providing medical aid. Not the greatest argument, again, but we all knew this would be the hardest hump to get over for the defense. Another argument the defense made is that drug users who are unconscious can begin to fight with police after they regain consciousness, a question Eric Nelson asked of the police sgt. to which he confirmed.
I think the most groundbreaking thing we learned today is from Floyd's girlfriend Courtney Ross. She acted as a spark of life witness, basically speaking on their relationship. The point of a spark of life witness is to basically humanize the victim, and attach a face/personality to him. Overall, I think it was relatively successful. But uncovered in the prosecution's questioning is that both Ross and Floyd suffered from a prolonged drug addiction. The defense cross examined the witness, and it did not go well for the state.
We learned extremely important things here. One is that Morries Hall was a passenger in Floyd's vehicle at the time of the incident. He was Floyd's source for fentanyl and other drugs. Hall basically lied to the police during the time of the incident and gave police a false name because he had warrants, and we know Hall is not going to testify because he doesn't want to incriminate himself. What we also learned is that Floyd in March of 2020 was hospitalized due to a drug overdose with a hospital stay lasting at least 5 days (11 days according to Eric Nelson). To investigators, Ross told them that Floyd had a foamy white substance running from his mouth as she took him to the hospital during Floyd's drug overdose. Floyd also had a foamy white substance running from his mouth during his May 25th arrest, confirmed by multiple witnesses. This is a huge fact that no one knew prior to today, and of course, the defense capitalized. Another sort small revelation is that Floyd had his girlfriend saved under the name "Mama" in his phone. This might put into context that Floyd was saying "Mama I love you" in reference to his girlfriend, and not his actual mother. Not like that matters in the grand scheme of things though.
Lot of good things learned today.