Chauvin Trial Commentary

[Vic79]

There was testimony that Floyd was a long time drug addict. My guess is that the jury is going to repeatedly hear something to the effect that Floyd survived years of drug abuse but didn't survive nine minutes under the knee of Chauvin.

That is weak and stupid route to go. Junkies OD everyone day.

[WillBrink]

That is weak and stupid route to go. Junkies OD everyone day.

They don't OD and die until they OD and die.

[Vic79]

If we weren’t handing out narcan like candy it would be even more. Kinda wish there was a nationwide shortage of that.

[WillBrink]

If we weren’t handing out narcan like candy it would be even more. Kinda wish there was a nationwide shortage of that.

I thought they did at one point. I think there should be a three strikes you're out rule on that one. ER doc I know said he revives a handful of the same people almost weekly.

[WillBrink]

An LT throwing his fellow LEO under the bus:

[ChattanoogaPhil]

Lt. Richard Zimmerman's testimony touched on many of the issues being discussed here. The only thing missing from the vid was a screenshot of the defense reaching for a Rolaids.

[TomMcC]

I'm a little confused by the Lt's testimony. Maybe some of it is missing? Does he testify that Chauvin's actions were outside of policy and also did he testify that Chauvin's actions were actually excessive force even though he wasn't striking Floyd but passively restraining him with no actual physical damage? It really sounded like he was testifying he just didn't like what he saw, but is that the same as stating for fact that Chauvin broke the law? Not sure I worded this correctly.

[C-grunt]

I'm a little confused by the Lt's testimony. Maybe some of it is missing? Does he testify that Chauvin's actions were outside of policy and also did he testify that Chauvin's actions were actually excessive force even though he wasn't striking Floyd but passively restraining him with no actual physical damage? It really sounded like he was testifying he just didn't like what he saw, but is that the same as stating for fact that Chauvin broke the law? Not sure I worded this correctly.

At least around here any physical contact with a person is a level of force. Grabbing, handcuffing, holding, pushing, punching, shooting etc... are all different levels of force. Some have argued that even the presence of an officer can constitute force, though I disagree with that.

If one were to say that Chauvin was intentionally pressing his knee into Floyds neck then that would be excessive force in my opinion. If you were to say that Chauvin was using a technique to hold down and restrain Floyd who was previously resisting and struggling, then in my opinion that would not be excessive force. That isnt to say that I believe the restraint technique used was a good idea, ie.. see my previous post about positional asphyxiation.

[BoringGuy45]

I thought they did at one point. I think there should be a three strikes you're out rule on that one. ER doc I know said he revives a handful of the same people almost weekly.

Now that I've worked in drug rehab, I have a lot more empathy for addicts. Yes, they made a terrible decision to start using. Yes, huge part of their recovery is based on choice and willpower. And I have trouble sympathizing with those who refuse to quit because they simply don't want to; that is, the ones who recognize that it is a problem, but they've never had regard for anyone regardless of whether or not it has anything to do with drugs or not.

But addiction is a monster, and if you give up on someone trying to get clean, they'll give up on themselves. Almost everybody relapses multiple times on whatever they're hooked on. I have a client who was hooked on pain pills, heroin, crack, and booze for about ten years. It took her another 10 years of leaping forward and falling back, but she's finally clean, having kicked crack for the last time last summer, and booze this past December. She's now working her ass off trying to make up for lost time, doing job training, getting in shape, mending fences with friends and family. Today, she's 180 degrees from where she was even last year. This was because a few people didn't give up on her.

So, as a result, I'm a little more understanding when it comes to repeat narcan customers.

[MWAG19919]

First of all, the medical examiner never stated that Floyd died as a result of Fentanyl. It only mentioned the presence of the drug in his system, along with methamphetamine and cannabis. The death was ruled a homicide by the ME, who explicitly refused to state that Fentanyl caused Floyd's death. I watched the bodycam footage of Officer Thomas Lane and I never saw Floyd swallow anything, which I believe members claimed to see several pages back.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mflGauY3jwE

https://www.npr.org/sections/live-up...or-coronavirus
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/ne...em/ar-BB18pb0p

Second, I keep seeing members post that the neck kneel was necessary due to Floyd's noncompliance and physical size. That might've been true for the first minute or two, but not the remaining 7 minutes. Chauvin may have been smaller than Floyd, but he was in no way struggling to subdue Floyd for the majority of the time he had his knee on Floyd's neck. He looked pretty relaxed with his hands in his pockets. Hell, he's not even breathing heavily. In fact, judging by the shit-eating sneer on his face, he's enjoying it. While that alone isn't criminal, the casual nature of the neck kneel absolutely kills the argument that it was necessary due to Floyd's size or behavior at the time. And the weak argument collapses completely as Floyd becomes unresponsive. Yet Chauvin and the other officers refused to relent, roll him to his side to aid in breathing, or even check his pulse.

Just wondering, how does a 3 minute drill apply when you have 4 versus 1, and the 1 is in handcuffs already?

My take is that Chauvin murdered the guy. I've heard in the aftermath of this incident as well as Eric Garner that if you can talk you can breathe, but that's a half truth at best. The fact is that you can restrict someone's airway for several minutes and they're going to become unconscious even if they can talk at first. If I smother someone with a pillow they can yell for help at first, but it's still murder.

The testimony of the Lt should remove all doubt that Chauvin's behavior was unnecessary force. Y'all gonna argue that the Lt is placating the mob too?