Derek Chauvin was seen with his hands around George Floyd's neck in never-before-released footage from the officer's body camera s...
Derek Chauvin was seen with his hands around George Floyd's neck in never-before-released footage from the officer's body camera shown at his murder trial today.
The prosecution called Lt Jeff Rugel, who runs the Minneapolis Police Department's Business Technology Unit, to the stand on Wednesday afternoon to authenticate officers' body camera footage and other video evidence from the scene.
Brief footage from Chauvin's camera was played, revealing his perspective as he approached Floyd for the first time.
Chauvin was seen with his hands around Floyd's neck as he and Officer Thomas Lane struggled with to get him into a squad car.
After a chaotic, blurred portion of footage, Chauvin's camera fell to the tarmac and there was no more footage from his perspective.
In footage recorded by Lane's body camera, Chauvin's camera could be seen lying beneath the squad car.
It's unclear exactly how the camera came to be on the ground during the confrontation.
Derek Chauvin was seen with his hands around George Floyd's neck in never-before-released footage from the officer's body camera played at his murder trial on Wednesday
In footage recorded by Officer Thomas Lane's body camera, Chauvin's camera could be seen lying beneath the squad car
Chauvin is seen struggling with Floyd in footage from Officer Tou Thao's body camera
Derek Chauvin (right) looked on and took copious notes during Wednesday's proceedings
The footage from Lane's camera had already been released publicly but had not been seen by any of the impaneled jurors and this is the first time that an expert witness has highlighted the discarded body camera.
Rugel told the jury how that Minneapolis police policy demands that officers wear their cameras at all times and to activate them during any activity or public interaction.
Lane activate his from inside the squad car as he and Officer J Alexander Keung arrived at Cup Foods and the footage ran through that initial encounter as the officer cuffed Floyd and urged him to stop resisting through the agonizing moments when he joined Keung and Chauvin in holding the man down.
As the encounter progressed the initial calm with which Floyd accompanied the officers across to their squad car deteriorated as the officers struggled to get him into the car.
Cuffed and chaotic Floyd started shouting that he can't breathe as the officers attempt to get him into the back of the vehicle, ultimately wriggling out through the other door at which point Chauvin arrives.
Lane can be heard saying: 'Just take him out,' and is quickly pulled from the car and down onto the street.
The prosecution went onto show the distressing body-camera footage from both Keung and Officer Tou Thao's body-worn cameras.
Asked if Chauvin also wore a body camera and if, based on his experience and expertise, that was 'the box on the floor [beneath squad car 320]', Rugel said: 'Yes.'
The court then saw previously unseen footage from Chauvin's body camera as he and Thao sped toward Cup Foods in their squad car.
The footage was paused as Chauvin's hand reached toward the camera.
Judge Peter Cahill excused the jury for the day after each segment of body camera footage had been viewed and entered into evidence.
Rugel remained on the stand to answer technical questions from Nelson regarding the length and editing of the footage, as well as Minneapolis police policy regarding their usage.
Other developments on Wednesday included:
- Witness Charles McMillian, 61, who was the first person to confront police about their treatment of Floyd on the day of his fatal arrest, broke down in tears as the prosecution played footage of cops wrestling with the handcuffed black man
- Cup Foods clerk Christopher Martin testified about how his co-worker called the cops after he suspected that a $20 bill Floyd used to pay for cigarettes was fake
- Off-duty firefighter and EMT Genevieve Hansen, 27, returned to the stand after her testimony was cut short on Tuesday when Judge Peter Cahill reprimanded her for repeatedly interrupting and talking back to the defense attorney during cross examination
- The court abruptly went into recess during Martin's testimony after a juror reported feeling faint and suffering a 'dizzy spell' due to what she labeled as anxiety
- Cup Foods broadcasted the trial live on a TV as the convenience store was thrust back into the spotlight over its connection to Floyd's death
The prosecution called Lt Jeff Rugel (pictured) of the Minneapolis Police Department to the stand to authenticate officers' body camera footage and other video evidence from the scene
Footage from Lane's body camera showed him pointing a gun when he first approached Floyd in his car
Officers Chauvin, Lane and Keung are seen outside the squad car struggling with Floyd in footage from Thao's body camera
The body camera footage was played after the court heard from witness Charles McMillian. The 61-year-old, who was the first person to confront police about their treatment of Floyd on the day of his fatal arrest, broke down in tears as the prosecution played footage of cops wrestling with the handcuffed black man.
McMillian said he was driving by the Cup Foods convenience store in Minneapolis on May 25, 2020, when he noticed officers struggling with Floyd and pulled over simply because he was 'being nosy'.
Footage from Lane's body camera, which was being released for the first time by the court but had already obtained by DailyMail.com last year, McMillian was heard calling out as cops grappled with Floyd in their squad car.
McMillian said he 'tried to make the situation easy,' by telling Floyd: 'You can't win.'
Floyd could be heard telling McMillian: 'I'm not trying to win. Don't do me like that, I'm claustrophobic.'
As he described how Floyd began to cry out for his mother minutes later while pinned to the ground by the officers, McMillian wept as he revealed that he understood how Floyd felt after losing his own mom.
'I couldn't help but feel helpless. I don't have a mama either, but I understand him. My mom died June 25th,' the witness said through tears.
Charles McMillian, 61, wept on the stand on Wednesday as he watched body camera footage of George Floyd's arrest
The court was shown footage that spliced a clip of McMillian on the sidewalk with a clip of Floyd inside the squad car
He revealed that he had experience of being handcuffed himself and as Floyd became more agitated, having been apparently calm as he was walked towards officers Lane and Keung's squad car, McMillian said he tried to help.
The court played footage of the events as McMillian described them. One clip of McMillian on the sidewalk was spliced with body camera footage of Floyd in the squad car.
'I'm watching, you know, Mr Floyd,' McMillian said. 'He collapsed onto the back seat and I'm trying to get him to understand when you make a mistake, once they get you in cuffs you got to wait there.
'Once they get you in cuffs you can't win.'
McMillian then described how he continued to try to help Floyd after officers Lane, Keung and Chauvin had pinned him to the ground.
'[Floyd] kept saying: "I can't breathe. Mama they're killing me, they're killing me.' He started saying: "My body's shutting down."'
McMillian remembered hearing an officer talking about fetching a 'hog-tie' but did not recall ever seeing them use such a restraint.
As more of the video was played McMillian's voice could be heard urging Floyd: 'Get up and get into the car. Get up and get into the car man.'
Floyd responded: 'I can't.'
Later McMillian could be heard telling Chauvin: 'Your knee on his neck, that's wrong man.'
Of his own part in the scene, McMillian said: 'I was trying to help him. He appeared to be in and out [of consciousness], with foam around his mouth. I said: "Man he said he can't breathe," and they said: "Well if he keeps talking he can breathe."'
As the state's questioning came to a close, jurors heard Chauvin speak for the first time.
The officer's voice was caught on officer Thao's bodycam as he justified his actions in a brief exchange with McMillian.
When McMillian told Chauvin: 'I don't respect what you did,' the officer replied: 'Well that's one person's opinion. We got to control this guy because he's a sizeable guy and looks like he's probably on something.'
In a strange twist McMillian had also told the court how he had met and interacted with Chauvin just five days earlier. He said he had pulled alongside his squad car and said: 'At the end of the day you go home to your family safe and the next person they go home to their family safe.'
Nelson did not cross-examine the witness.
Floyd inside the Cup Foods store moments before police responded to a call about Floyd using a counterfeit $20 bill.
Cup Foods clerk Christopher Martin testified that Floyd's hands were shaking, he was unable to make conversation and he appeared to be under the influence of drugs.
Looking back, Martin said he wished he'd never raised alarm about the fake bill because he believes Floyd might still be alive if he hadn't, telling the court: 'This could have been avoided.'
Surveillance video from a camera mounted behind the counter showed Martin speaking with Floyd as he used the fake bill to purchase cigarettes.
Floyd then walked outside as Martin held the bill up and examined it. Martin told the court that he became suspicious of the bill because it had an unusual 'blue pigment so I assumed it was fake'.
'The policy was if you took a counterfeit bill you had to pay for it out of your pay-check,' Martin explained. 'I took it anyways and was planning to just put it on my tab - until I second guessed myself and eventually told my manager.'
The manager then instructed Martin to go outside and bring Floyd back, he said. When Floyd refused, a co-worker called police. One of the responding officers was Chauvin.
Questioned by Minnesota Assistant Attorney General Matthew Frank, Martin said that the two things he noticed about Floyd were his 'size' and he appeared to be 'high'.
However he said that he did not find Floyd's demeanor to be threatening, saying: 'He seemed very friendly, approachable, talkative, he seemed just to be having an average Memorial Day living his life. But he did seem high.'
An autopsy found Floyd had fentanyl and methamphetamine in his system at the time of his death. Chauvin's lawyers have argued that his true cause of death was a drug overdose, despite the county medical examiner ruling it a homicide resulting from the police restraint.
New video showing George Floyd (center in a black tank top) inside the Minneapolis Cup Foods store moments before his death was played in court on Wednesday at the start of day three of Derek Chauvin's murder trial
Floyd is seen holding the counterfeit $20 bill he used to buy cigarettes before a clerk noticed it was fake
Across the approximately ten minutes of footage, Floyd can be seen meandering through the small store where he had dropped off his cell phone to be fixed.
He could be seen rifling through his pants pockets, counting and recounting bills, taking them out and replacing them.
Cup Foods clerk Christopher Martin (pictured), who was working on May 25, 2020, took the stand on Wednesday to testify about how staff called the cops on Floyd because they believed he used a counterfeit $20 bill
At times in the video, which did not have audio, Floyd appeared to be talking to himself or randomly at other customers.
After briefly exiting the store, knocking a piece of fruit to the ground as he left, he returned and again appeared agitated, high and distracted.
At one point he hopped on the spot, shuffled backwards before putting his arms over his head and jigging once more where he stood.
Twitchy and unable to stand still he made his way to the front of the store once more to buy cigarettes with the $20 bill that store clerk Martin immediately believed to be fake.
Martin then narrated a second video showing him speaking with Floyd and his acquaintances in a car parked outside Cup Foods. He said he took two trips out to the vehicle, bringing co-workers with him the second time.
'I notified them that they needed to come back into the store and the bill was fake and my boss wanted to talk to them,' Martin said.
He recalled Floyd sitting in the driver seat 'kind of shaking his head, putting his hands on his head. Like: "Why is this happening?" kind of thing.'
Floyd repeatedly refused to come back into the store, at which point Martin said his manager instructed a co-worker to call the police.
He said officers arrived and spoke to the manager while Martin went back to manning the cash register.
Across the approximately ten minutes of footage, Floyd can be seen meandering through the small store where he had dropped off his cell phone to be fixed
He could be seen rifling through his pants pockets, counting and recounting bills, taking them out and replacing them
Under continued questioning by Frank, Martin told how, as the store emptied, he became aware of a commotion at the front of Cup Foods. He went outside and was confronted by the already escalated situation.
'I saw people yelling and screaming I saw Derek [Chauvin] with his knee on George's neck on the ground,' he said.
'George was motionless, limp and Chauvin seemed very…he was in a resting state, meaning like he just rested his knee on his neck.'
Martin, who lived above the store, said: 'I pulled my phone out first and called my mom and told her not to come downstairs. Then I started recording.
'Later on that night I deleted it because when they picked George up off the ground the ambulance went straight down 38th and the quickest way to get to the hospital is straight down Chicago Avenue.'
Martin said he assumed from this that Floyd was already dead and deleted his recording as he didn't want to have to show it to anybody or answer questions about it in the aftermath.
Asked how he had felt as he absorbed what he had just witnessed, Martin said 'disbelief and guilt'.
Martin, who had earlier told jurors that he had almost not reported the fake bill and only done so after second-guessing himself, said: 'If I would have just not taken the bill this could have been avoided.'
Asked if he still worked at Cup Foods, Martin's voice cracked as he said: 'No. I didn't feel safe.'
A second video from outside the store showed Martin (above in gray) talking to Floyd inside a car parked at Cup Foods
Martin is seen (bottom right) standing outside the store as police restrained Chauvin on the other side of a squad car
Under cross examination by Chauvin's attorney Eric Nelson, Martin said that he recognized Floyd's male companion as a man who had come in earlier and tried to pass a fake $20 that he immediately saw was similar to the one he was later offered by Floyd.
Asked why he called out the earlier customer while he took the bill from Floyd, Martin said: 'The other person that had come in kind of seemed like he was trying to scheme…with George it seemed like he didn't know [it was fake].
'I was trying to do him a favor.'
Nelson questioned Martin further about Floyd's behavior and why he believed him to be high.
According to the teen Floyd appeared to have difficulty forming words, was doing stretches and side-lunges and was slow to respond to his casual questions.
Witness Christopher Belfrey (pictured) testified about video he recorded of two cops detaining Floyd before Chauvin and another cop arrived
Taking issue with the characterization in re-direct, Frank sought to establish that Floyd was not so high as to have any difficulty making his purchase, to which Martin replied: 'Correct.'
A morning dominated by video ended with the jury being shown footage recorded by a Cup Foods customer parked across the street from Floyd's SUV shortly before lunch.
Seen for the first time the video put a new perspective on events, showing the arrival of officers Thomas Lane and J Alexander Keung, the first on the scene that day.
Witness Christopher Belfrey, 45, said that he started recording when parked directly behind the SUV as he was 'startled' to see Lane draw his handgun.
Belfrey explained that he pulled to the other side of the street, not wanting to 'get in the middle' of whatever was occurring and continued recording.
The court watched the footage in which Floyd can be seen, apparently cuffed and compliant, seated against a wall having been removed from his vehicle.
According to Belfrey, Lane and Keung then walked Floyd across to their squad car and put him in it.
He said that he had simply gone home at that point because 'I thought he was detained. I thought it was over.'
Belfrey, 45, said that he started recording his video (pictured) when parked directly behind Floyd's SUV because he was 'startled' to see Officer Thomas Lane draw his handgun
Belfrey explained that he pulled to the other side of the street, not wanting to 'get in the middle' of whatever was occurring and continued recording. The court watched the footage in which Floyd can be seen, apparently cuffed and compliant, seated against a wall having been removed from his vehicle
The court took a quick break mid-morning during Martin's testimony after a juror complained of feeling faint and suffering a 'dizzy spell'. The juror, a white woman in her fifties, raised her hand to signal distress and had been fanning herself and looking flushed.
Judge Cahill halted the proceedings for a few minutes before everyone returned to the court. The judge asked the woman, who declined medical attention, how she was feeling, to which she responded: 'I'm shaky but better.'
Cahill asked if the incident was 'stress-related', explaining that the court had to make a record of it, and the juror told him that it was, adding: 'I've been awake since 2am. [But] I think I'll be okay going forward.'
The jurors swapped seats to allow her easier access to the exit should it be necessary. Two alternates were appointed in the event that any of the seated jurors are unable to continue through to deliberations.
As the proceedings progressed Chauvin, who was smartly dressed in dark grey suit, white shirt and blue tie, looked on and took copious notes on a yellow legal pad, as he's done each day in court.
The 45-year-old is charged on three counts in connection with Floyd's death: second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.
If convicted on the most serious count, Chauvin faces a possible 40 years in prison.
If found guilty of manslaughter he faces a maximum penalty of ten years though he could be free within five.
Much hangs on the outcome of this trial – not least the likely fates of Thomas Lane, 38; J Alexander Keung, 27; and Tou Thao, 35; the three officers currently awaiting trial for aiding and abetting in Floyd's death.
George Floyd's family members and their attorney Ben Crump (right) arrive at the Hennepin County Court on Wednesday
A protester stands near the heavily-fortified courthouse on Wednesday as Chauvin's murder trial resumed
Genevieve Hansen, 27, an off-duty firefighter, resumed her testimony on Wednesday after it was cut short the day before when she was reprimanded by Judge Peter Cahill for interrupting and talking back to Chauvin's attorney Eric Nelson
First on the stand on Wednesday was off-duty Minneapolis firefighter and paramedic Genevieve Hansen, 27, who resumed her witness testimony after it was cut short on Tuesday when she was admonished by Judge Peter Cahill for repeatedly interrupting and talking back to Nelson during cross examination.
Hansen, 27, had wiped away tears as she recalled how she had identified herself as a first responder and begged to help Floyd when she believed he was dying outside the Cup Foods store in Minneapolis on May 25, 2020.
But soon after her demeanor changed as she was questioned by Nelson, who asked if she would describe bystanders at the scene of Floyd's arrest as upset or angry.
Hansen replied: 'I don't know if you've seen anybody be killed, but it's upsetting.'
At this point Judge Cahill stepped in and cautioned Hansen for being argumentative, instructing her to 'just answer his questions'.
Minutes later Cahill sent the jury out for the day before turning to an increasingly combative Hansen and telling her in no uncertain terms: 'You will not argue with the court, you will not argue with counsel.'
In stark contrast to the high emotion of yesterday, questions were brief and subdued on Wednesday morning.
Asked by Nelson if she had provided ID at the scene of George Floyd's death, Hansen said no before confirming to Frank that her assessment had been that the dying man required, 'immediate medical attention.'
Genevieve Hansen, an off-duty Minneapolis firefighter and paramedic, was admonished by Judge Peter Cahill while testifying at Derek Chauvin's murder trial on Tuesday after she repeatedly interrupted and talked back to the defense attorney
Bystander video showed Hansen (left and right) pleading with the officers to allow her to help Floyd. Her calls fell on deaf ears as Chauvin remained unmoved and Officer Thao told her to remain on the curb, at one point saying: 'If you really are a Minneapolis firefighter you would know better than to get involved'
As testimony began on Tuesday Chauvin (right) looked on, smartly dressed in dark blue suit, grey shirt and tie
Under questioning by Assistant Attorney General Matthew Frank on Tuesday, Hansen had explained how her desperate pleas to be allowed to provide Floyd with life-saving medical assistance were ignored by the officers who pinned him down and blocked by officer Thao.
'I tried calm and reasoning, I pleaded and was desperate. I was desperate to help,' Hansen said.
Her calls fell on deaf ears as Chauvin remained unmoved and Officer Thao told her to remain on the curb, at one point saying: 'If you really are a Minneapolis firefighter you would know better than to get involved.'
In court Hansen said: 'That's exactly what I should have done. There was no medical assistance on the scene and I could have given [it].'
She told the court how she had observed the three officers on top of Floyd and known in an instant it wasn't right.
'The officers were leaning over his body with what appeared to be the majority of their weight on him,' she said. 'He wasn't moving, he was cuffed and three grown men putting all their weight on somebody – that's too much.
'Chauvin seemed very comfortable with the majority of his weight balanced on top of Mr Floyd's neck. In my memory he had his hand in his pocket. He wasn't distributing the weight on the car, on the pavement.'
!['There's a man being killed,' Hansen said, 'and had I had access I would have [helped]. This human was denied that right'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/03/31/10/41084062-9420365-Judea_recalled_how_Chauvin_refused_to_move_even_after_paramedics-a-4_1617182415101.jpg)
Under questioning by the prosecution on Tuesday, Hansen had explained how her desperate pleas to be allowed to provide Floyd with life-saving medical assistance were ignored by the officers who pinned him down and blocked by officer Tou Thao
Hansen, who is a qualified EMT with state and national licenses, said that she had assessed that Floyd had a 'altered level of consciousness,' that concerned her greatly.
She said that his face was 'smooshed' into the pavement and said: 'I was really concerned. I thought his face looked puffy and swollen which would happen if you were putting a grown man's weight [on him].
'I noticed some fluid coming from what looked like George Floyd's body and a lot of time we see a patient release their bladder when they die - that's where my mind went. He was restrained but he wasn't moving.'
Hansen said she recognized that Floyd was unconscious because he was not responding to the 'painful stimulae' of Chauvin's knee on his neck.
'What I needed to know was whether or not he had a pulse anymore,' she said. But she said she was not permitted access to the scene and the officers ignored her offers to talk them through CPR.
She said she felt 'helpless.' 'There's a man being killed,' she said, 'and had I had access I would have [helped]. This human was denied that right.'
Before she took the stand jury saw video she had recorded on the scene and heard audio of the 911 call she placed immediately after.
Her voice trembling with shock and emotion she could be heard telling the operator: 'I literally just watched police officers not take a pulse and not to do anything to save a man and I am a first responder myself and I literally have it on video.'
In an uncomfortable cross-examination, Hansen became visibly frustrated with Nelson's line of questioning and refused to be drawn into an admission that she would be distracted from her job if a threatening crowd were gathered telling her she was 'doing it wrong'.
Time after time Nelson attempted to get an admission out of her until she said: 'I think a burning structure where there are buildings and homes and people living on either side is much more concerning than 20 people.
'I'll repeat myself, I know my job, I'm confident in doing my job and there's nothing anybody can do to disturb me.'
She also refused point blank to believe Nelson when he told her that medics had been called five minutes before she arrived on the scene, saying that a fire rig would have already arrived if that were true.
Nelson told her, 'You arrived at 8.26.29. The medics were called at 8.21 – code 3.'
She snapped back: 'I don't believe that.'
As Nelson's cross examination continued, Hansen became less and less tolerant of his questioning. When he asked if she had grown angry, she said she had been 'desperate' before admitting: 'I got quite angry after Mr Floyd was loaded into the ambulance and there was no point in trying to reason with them anymore because they had just killed somebody.'
In response to Nelson’s observations that she had called Officer Thao 'a b***h,' that she had become angry and that the crowd had grown more vocal and threatening as the incident progressed, she said: 'I don't know if you've ever seen anybody get killed. It's quite upsetting.'
That's when Judge Cahill moved to dismiss the jury before scolding Hansen and telling her to come back to finish her testimony on Wednesday.
Trial attorney Jerry Blackwell promised that the jury would hear from witnesses who had 'called the police on the police', in his opening statements Monday.
Hansen is the third witness called by the state who did just that; the first was 911 dispatcher Jena Scurry and the second Donald Williams.
On Tuesday the court heard from four witnesses who were minors at the time of Floyd's death and spoke of how they felt helpless as they watched the handcuffed black man lose consciousness and the cops pinning him down ignored their pleas. 
In an uncomfortable cross-examination, Hansen became visibly frustrated with the line of questioning from defense attorney Eric Nelson (left). At one point Hansen told Nelson: 'I don't know if you've seen anybody be killed, but it's upsetting'
Genevieve Hansen is driven away from court in a City of Minneapolis Fire Department vehicle after her dressing d
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