Chauvin trial brings justice in the midst of more loss
Chauvin trial brings justice in the midst of more loss
Kat Pereira / Contributor / The USD Vista
In May of 2020, George Floyd entered Cup Foods in Minneapolis to buy cigarettes. Store clerk Christopher Martin believed that Floyd was using a counterfeit twenty dollar bill to pay and after Floyd left the store went to tell his manager. Another co-worker then called 911 and officer Derek Chauvin arrested Floyd. Videos and witnesses reveal that as Chauvin arrested Floyd, he kneeled on his neck for around eight minutes. Despite stating repeatedly that he could not breathe, officers kept Floyd pinned down until Officer J Alexander Kueng could not feel a pulse. Two minutes later, emergency responders arrive and Floyd is pronounced dead.
An autopsy report from the Hennepin County Medical Examiner reveals that Floyd died while being restrained by Chauvin. All four officers involved were fired and officers Kueng, Lane, and Tou Thao were charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and manslaughter. Since Chauvin directly restricted Floyd’s ability to breathe, he has been charged with second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and manslaughter.
Derek Chauvin’s trial began on March 29 and concluded Monday, April 19. In total, 45 people testified, 38 witnesses for the prosecutor and seven for the defense. Among those who testified was Courteney Ross, Floyd’s girlfriend. Ross instilled a sense of loss and genuine human emotion to the courtroom as she reminisced about first meeting Floyd at a Salvation Army shelter.
“He asked me if he could get my number and we had our first kiss in the lobby and that’s when our relationship started,” Ross said. She also disclosed the struggle both her and Floyd had with opioid addictions. “Addiction, in my opinion, is a lifelong struggle, so it’s something that we dealt with every day,” Ross said.
Floyd’s opioid addiction has been used by the defense to introduce doubts as to whether Chauvin’s actions were solely the cause of death. In fact, former chief medical examiner Dr. David Fowler testified as a witness for the defense in stating that Floyd suffered from health conditions as a result of using illicit drugs. He states that, “a sudden cardiac arrhythmia due to his atherosclerotic and hypertensive heart disease” and “an effect from increased carbon monoxide in his bloodstream” contributed to Floyd’s death. Fowler argues that it was these conditions and not the actions of Chauvin that directly led to Floyd’s death. However, pulmonologist, Dr. Martin Tobin’s testimony refutes this claim that Floyd’s opioid addiction played a part in his death, as tests conducted during Floyd’s autopsy revealed that “the maximum amount of carbon monoxide would be 2%,” according to Tobin. He also clarified that, “2% of carboxyhemoglobin (potential for carbon monoxide) is within the normal range.”
As of April 16, no more evidence was introduced on either side. However, before the prosecution rested its case, Chauvin pleaded the fifth and chose not to testify at his trial. The fifth amendment protects a person’s right not to “be a witness against himself.” Pleading the fifth can also be used to avoid answering police questions and applies to both federal and state jurisdiction. Although within his right, Chauvin’s decision is very uncommon for police officers to make according to reporting by the Chicago Union Tribune.
On April 19, the defense began their closing remarks aimed at attacking the reliability of the well-known cellphone video showing Chauvin kneeling on Floyd’s neck. Chauvin’s defense attorney Eric Nelson drew attention to the previous 16 minutes missing from the video taken on teenager Darnella Frazier’s phone saying that this gap of time should be taken into consideration. Another point Nelson urged the jury to ponder is that any police officer would have taken the same actions Chauvin took. Nelson argued that, “Human behavior is unpredictable, and nobody knows it better than a police officer.” He proceeded to say that, “restraint is not an inherently dangerous act. It is routinely trained and used by the Minneapolis Police Department.” The defense concluded by normalizing the actions Chauvin took by comparing them to standard police department practices and studies done on the impact of restraining individuals to assert that Chauvin is in fact innocent and did not murder Floyd.
The prosecution then began their closing statements with part of the cell phone video showing Floyd struggling to breathe and asking for water while Chauvin expressed disregard by focusing his attention on picking rocks out of a tire. Prosecutor Steve Schleicher then urged the jury to trust what they’ve seen on video. Schleicher described the video as, “Nine minutes and 29 seconds of shocking abuse of authority.” However, an important distinction is made by the prosecutor in that the case is not meant to be against the police. “Policing is a most noble profession,” Schleicher said. “It is, and to be very clear, this case is called the State of Minnesota versus Derek Chauvin. This case is not called the State of Minnesota versus the police.”
In saying this, the prosecution disproved any direct evidence of appearing to be against the police in its entirety. Instead the prosecution’s closing remarks put sole blame on Chauvin for having violated department policy by not having reasonable cause to use a maximal restraint technique on Floyd and upon restraining him, failed to use what Schleicher called “the hubble,” or to put a person being restrained in a side recovery position immediately. “If you’re going to restrain someone like that, the policy authorizes use of the hubble,” Schleicher remarked. The prosecution then rested its case and rebuttals began bringing a new controversy with great ramifications to light.
On April 17, during a demonstration in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, California Representative Maxine Waters commented on the Chauvin case by encouraging protestors to take action outside the courthouse. “If nothing does not happen, then we know that we’ve got to not only stay in the street, but we’ve got to fight for justice,” Waters says referring to a verdict being reached in the Chauvin trial.
In light of the commentary made by Waters, Defense Attorney Nelson argued for a mistrial stating that Waters’ commentary will have influence on the jury. Judge of the Chauvin Trial, Peter Cahill responded to these remarks by Waters saying, “I think if they want to give their opinions, they should do so in a manner that is respectful and consistent with their oath to the constitution.” While Cahill denounced Waters’ comments for interfering with the “rule of law,” he rejected Nelson’s call for a mistrial since jurors have been instructed to not watch the news and therefore will not be influenced by Waters commentary.
Despite conflict surrounding Waters commentary, a verdict has been reached by all 12 jurors who convicted Chauvin on all charges. Chauvin was found guilty of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter. As of April 20th, Chauvin has been taken into custody by the Hennepin County Sheriff’s office. Judge Cahill expects sentencing to begin in about eight weeks after first looking further into Chauvin’s background in a pre-sentencing report. Since there is no prior record of criminal history for Chauvin, the standard sentence would be about 12.5 years. However, the state requested a longer sentence before Chauvin’s conviction premised on the conditions of Floyd’s murder. The prosecution mentions that the killing of Floyd occured in the presence of children and demonstrated a lack of human decency by Chauvin.
The sentencing of Chauvin is a multifaceted process as a conviction of second-degree murder could result in up to 40 years in prison depending on special circumstances of Floyd’s death. Additionally, Chauvin chose to waive his 6th Amendment right to have a jury decide on sentencing in regards to the special conditions of his case involving the presence of children and treatment of Floyd leading up to his death. In doing this, all sentencing will only be done by Judge Cahill.
This verdict has an interesting impact on the broader scope of justice within the black community as protesters marched through downtown Minneapolis calling for police accountability through charging Chauvin with the killing of Floyd. One protestor spoke to ABC affiliate KSTP radio in Minneapolis about the significance of the Chauvin trial for people of color. “When I come here, I want to feel safe, I don’t want to feel, like, scared every time I get pulled over, every time I have an encounter with the police,” he says reinforcing the fact that getting pulled over “shouldn’t be happening just because I’m Black.”
While this trial is coming to a close, police brutality has sparked even more controversy in Minneapolis surrounding the death of Daunte Wright. Last week on April 11, Daunte Wright was driving in Brooklyn Center with his girlfriend Alayna in the passenger seat. A criminal complaint was filed in the District Court Fourth Judicial District in the State of Minnesota against resigned Officer Kim Potter. The complaint revealed that Wright was then pulled over around 1:53 p.m. at 63rd Avenue North and Orchard Avenue North near Minneapolis for expired license plates. Wright also mentioned in a call to his mother while being pulled over that there were air fresheners hanging from his rearview mirror which is prohibited by Minnesota law.
Brooklyn Center Police Department mentions that soon after Wright was pulled over, Officer Anthony Luckey checked Wright’s record and discovered an outstanding warrant for a misdemeanor weapons charge. This charge refers to Wright carrying a pistol without a permit and fleeing a peace officer. However, with a confusion of addresses and overall communication, Wright claimed he never received the information for his first hearing which resulted in a warrant being issued for his arrest on April 2, 2021. In light of this warrant, Luckey said he ordered Wright to step out of his vehicle.
As shown on body camera footage, initially Wright complied with all police commands until Officer Luckey began to handcuff Wright at which point he attempted to reenter his car. As Wright did this, Luckey’s training officer and 26-year veteran of the Brooklyn Center Police Department Kim Potter, approached the driver’s side of the vehicle threatening to use her taser on Wright. However, as seen on police body camera footage, what Potter reached for was not a taser, but a Glock 9mm handgun. Soon after Potter pulled the trigger and shouted, “Taser, Taser, Taser!” Wright began to drive away after being shot in his left side. The vehicle stopped after crashing into another car shortly after fleeing from the police officers. All individuals in the other car were uninjured and Wright’s girlfriend suffered minor injuries.
Alayna, Wright’s girlfriend, answered a call from Wright’s mother after the vehicle had stopped to inform her that Wright had been shot and was unresponsive. Medical responders pronounced Wright dead at the scene, throwing family and friends into a place of grave loss and grief. Wright’s mother and father Katie and Aubrey Wright spoke on Good Morning America on April 13 about the injustice of losing their son. Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon released a statement saying that he believes Potter intended to use a taser on Wright and not a gun. Aubrey Wright responded to this statement saying, “I cannot accept that. I lost my son, he’s never coming back. I can’t accept that.” Katie Wright discussed what she hopes to see happen to Potter during her trial. “I would like to see justice served and her held accountable for everything that she’s taken from us,” Katie Wright said.
As of April 13, Potter resigned from the police force and was arrested and charged with second-degree manslaughter the next day. That same day, Potter posted a bond on a $100,000 bail. If she is convicted of killing Wright, she could face up to 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine. Potter made her first court appearance via Zoom on April 15 for a procedural hearing. Potter’s defense attorney, Earl Gray was also present during the hearing. Gray is also currently representing Thomas Lane, one of the officers who helped restrain George Floyd.
Both the Chauvin Trial and the killing of Daunte Wright have sparked remarkable support from the black community who view both deaths as tragedies that require accountability.
Professor of the History of Race and Ethnicity, David Miller brings up that while justice has been served, it is important to not let one instance of accountability reflect overall victory in the face of so many more unlawful deaths as seen with Daunte Wright. Miller stated that, “This time he didn’t get away with it. It matters that there’s a change and he’s not above the law.” However, “in order to win, they had to take racism out of it” Miller said.
While the trial itself excluded the role race played in the killing of Floyd, it is still historically relevant. Brooklyn Center resident Cliff Orange mentions the important role cameras and technology plays in recording what is happening for evidence purposes. “This has been happening. The only difference is we have cameras now. This is another arm of oppression that’s been allowed to thrive for a long time,” Orange said.
Individuals in the community have continued to see the role race plays in treatment by the police. President of the NAACP Derrick Johnson released a statement tying Wright’s death to a continuous push for change through the organization’s hashtag to advocate against police brutality, “#WeAreDoneDying.” Johnson mentioned that both Floyd and Wright, “were fathers, both were Black men, both died at the hands of police. Whether it be carelessness and negligence, or a blatant modern-day lynching, the result is the same.” Miller, Johnson, and Orange all reinforce the same point that race has historically impacted how black people are treated.