Prosecutor: Chauvin ‘had to know’ Floyd’s life was in danger
April 19, 2021 9:09AM AKDT
In this image from video, defense attorney Eric Nelson, left, and defendant, former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin listen to Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill read instructions to the jury before closing arguments, Monday, April 19, 2021, in the trial of Chauvin at the Hennepin County Courthouse in Minneapolis. Chauvin is charged in the May 25, 2020 death of George Floyd. (Court TV via AP, Pool)
By AMY FORLITI, STEPHEN GROVES and TAMMY WEBBER Associated Press
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A prosecutor says Derek Chauvin “had to know” he was squeezing the life out of George Floyd as the Black man cried out over and over that he couldn’t breathe. Closing arguments began at Chauvin’s murder trial. The prosecution is going first, hoping to convince the jury that Chauvin squeezed the life from George Floyd as he and two other officers pinned him to the street for 9 minutes, 29 seconds, outside a corner market. Prosecutors say those actions, despite Floyd’s repeated cries that he couldn’t breathe, were reckless, unreasonable and warrant conviction not just for manslaughter but also on two murder counts.
