I have changed my mind about the George Floyd case, after watching several hours of Derek Chauvin's trial, and especially after watching the previously unreleased police body-camera footage of the incident.
I do not believe that Chauvin committed second-degree murder. I think he committed manslaughter. I would need several pages to fully explain the reasons for my view. Here are a few points that capture the main reasons:
* Floyd could have avoided being pinned on the ground in the first place if he had simply obeyed the police officers' repeated request to get into the back of the police car.
* The officers did not pin Floyd on the ground until after he strongly resisted being put into the police car and after he then pushed his way out of the car and came out the other side of the car. Only at that point did the officers pin him on the ground.
* Floyd's claim that he was afraid to get into confined spaces and therefore afraid to get into the back of the police car seems extremely doubtful, given the fact that Floyd had just spent several minutes in the front of a small car with the windows rolled up. The body camera footage shows that the front of the car that Floyd was taken from was virtually identical in size to the back of the police car.
* The officers may have doubted Floyd's claim that he could not breathe because he started making this claim long before he was pinned on the ground and at a time when he clearly could breathe, as the officers pointed out to him.
* Floyd's autopsy report proves that he was heavily under the influence of drugs during the incident. This could explain his irrational behavior.
* Floyd deserves most of the blame for the incident. Chauvin should not have put his knee on Floyd's neck. He should have eased up on Floyd's neck after Floyd stopped moving, and he should have checked Floyd's vital signs after he stopped moving. But, again, Floyd never would have been pinned on the ground in the first place if he had simply gotten into the back of the police car as he was repeatedly instructed to do.
And, just for the record, George Floyd was neither a "gentle person" nor "a good father"; he was a violent thug with a long rap sheet:
Two Sides To Every Story: George Floyd And Derek Chauvin – Stateline Network EXTRA
I do not believe that Chauvin committed second-degree murder. I think he committed manslaughter. I would need several pages to fully explain the reasons for my view. Here are a few points that capture the main reasons:
* Floyd could have avoided being pinned on the ground in the first place if he had simply obeyed the police officers' repeated request to get into the back of the police car.
* The officers did not pin Floyd on the ground until after he strongly resisted being put into the police car and after he then pushed his way out of the car and came out the other side of the car. Only at that point did the officers pin him on the ground.
* Floyd's claim that he was afraid to get into confined spaces and therefore afraid to get into the back of the police car seems extremely doubtful, given the fact that Floyd had just spent several minutes in the front of a small car with the windows rolled up. The body camera footage shows that the front of the car that Floyd was taken from was virtually identical in size to the back of the police car.
* The officers may have doubted Floyd's claim that he could not breathe because he started making this claim long before he was pinned on the ground and at a time when he clearly could breathe, as the officers pointed out to him.
* Floyd's autopsy report proves that he was heavily under the influence of drugs during the incident. This could explain his irrational behavior.
* Floyd deserves most of the blame for the incident. Chauvin should not have put his knee on Floyd's neck. He should have eased up on Floyd's neck after Floyd stopped moving, and he should have checked Floyd's vital signs after he stopped moving. But, again, Floyd never would have been pinned on the ground in the first place if he had simply gotten into the back of the police car as he was repeatedly instructed to do.
And, just for the record, George Floyd was neither a "gentle person" nor "a good father"; he was a violent thug with a long rap sheet:
Two Sides To Every Story: George Floyd And Derek Chauvin – Stateline Network EXTRA
Last edited: