A "remarkable move": Minneapolis police chief expected to testify against Derek Chauvin
05 April 2021
Minneapolis police chief Medaria Arradondo is expected to take the stand as soon as today, as testimony in the Derek Chauvin trial continues for a second week.
Why it matters: The city's top cop will tell jurors that Chauvin's "conduct was not consistent" with MPD training and policies, per special prosecutor Jerry Blackwell's opening statement.
- "He will not mince any words. He’s very clear. He will be very decisive, that this was excessive force."
Flashback: Arradondo, who fired all four officers involved in George Floyd's killing last summer, previously characterized Chauvin's actions as "murder."
- "Mr. George Floyd’s tragic death was not due to a lack of training — the training was there. This was murder — it wasn’t a lack of training."
Between the lines: It's rare for a chief to testify against an officer, The Guardian notes. One expert called the decision "a pretty remarkable move."
- Of note: Arradondo also testified in the 2019 trial of former officer Mohamed Noor. He was assistant chief when Noor fatally shot 911 caller Justine Ruszczyk in South Minneapolis.
The timing: Judge Peter Cahill told the court pool reporter that Arradondo will probably testify today, but that could change.
- An MPD spokesman told us that the chief is on standby given the "fluctuating cadence of the trial."
This story first appeared in theAxios Twin Citiesnewsletter, designed to help readers get smarter, faster on the most consequential news unfolding in their own backyard.
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.