Derek Chauvin Trial: 4 Big Takeaways From Prosecution's 'Very Strong' Week

The trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin moved methodically through its second week of testimony, giving the jury a more complete picture of the forces that shaped Chauvins deadly interaction with George Floyd on May 25, 2020.

Floyd, a Black man, was captured on video that day struggling with a small group of officers for allegedly using a counterfeit $20 bill until Chauvin, a white man, pinned him to the ground by the neck with his knee for more than nine minutes. Floyd appeared to be unconscious for more than four of those minutes. He was then taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

On Monday morning, jurors heard from the emergency room physician who made the pronouncement, followed by other medical professionals who took the stand to lend their expertise. A steady parade of use of force experts, including Minneapolis police chief Medaria Arradondo, either cast doubt on Chauvins chosen method of restraint or denounced it.

In more procedural testimony, lab techs made plain the substances found in the car Floyd was using at the time of his arrest, as well as in the back seat of the police vehicle he was momentarily contained in.

Prosecutors used the second week to build on the often emotional testimony from Week 1 , which shone a spotlight on the bystanders who agitated over the officers treatment of Floyd.

Its been a very strong case on the part of the prosecution, University of Washington law professor Mary Fan told HuffPost after the second week.

Howard University associate law professor Justin Hansford told HuffPost he was not really impressed with the prosecutions first week, saying that he did not believe the team focused enough on substantive arguments.

This week, I think the prosecution did much better, he said.

Chauvin has pleaded not guilty to all three of the homicide-related charges against him. If convicted, he could face 11 to 15 years behind bars.

Heres what you missed:

Medical professionals agree: George Floyd likely died from asphyxia, or a lack of oxygen.

Some of the most damning testimony this week came from Dr. Martin Tobin, a renowned pulmonologist who has studied how people breathe for more than four decades. Through diagrams, 3D modeling and mathematical calculations, Tobin walked the jury through the way he believed Floyd died, explaining how Floyds prone position, the placement of his handcuffs, the knee to his neck and knee to his back and left side made breathing difficult and then impossible.

(The prone position, a term used frequently at the trial, refers to when a person is lying on their stomach.)

Its like the left side is in a vise, Tobin testified. Its totally been pushed in, squeezed in from each side, from the street at the bottom and from the way that the handcuffs are manipulated. It was almost as if Floyds left lung had been surgically removed, Tobin said, adding, Not quite, but along those lines.

In a particularly somber moment on the stand, he showed the jury the precise moment he believed Floyd died.

The prosecution has had a good day with this star witness. Dr Martin Tobin identified the exact moment George Floyd died and the jury paid attention #DerekChauvinTrial pic.twitter.com/03IRbvRLVI

Larry Madowo (@LarryMadowo) April 8, 2021","type":"rich","meta":{"author":"Larry Madowo","author_url":"https://twitter.com/LarryMadowo","cache_age":86400,"description":"The prosecution has had a good day with this star witness. 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The prosecution has had a good day with this star witness. Dr Martin Tobin identified the exact moment George Floyd died and the jury paid attention #DerekChauvinTrial pic.twitter.com/03IRbvRLVI
Larry Madowo (@LarryMadowo) April 8, 2021

Importantly, Tobin noted that Floyd succumbing to those forces was not an idiosyncrasy, even though he suffered from heart disease and had fentanyl and methamphetamine in his system when he died.

A healthy person subjected to what Mr. Floyd was subjected to would have died as a result of what he was subjected to, Tobin testified.

Dr. Lindsey Thomas, a consulting forensic pathologist, made a similar remark, telling the courtroom, Theres no evidence to suggest that he wouldve died that night except for the interactions with law enforcement.

Both Dr. Bradford Langenfeld, the emergency physician who treated Floyd at the Hennepin County Medical Center, and Dr. Andrew Baker, Hennepin Countys chief medical examiner who performed Floyds first autopsy, determined that asphyxia was the most likely explanation for his death.

No one disagrees that there were drugs at the scene and in Floyds body, or that he had preexisting conditions.

One of the key issues Chauvins trial highlights is whether its reasonable to expect police to be able to handle people with such conditions heart disease or addiction issues, as many people in America have without killing them.

Theres a saying in law that one takes ones victim as one finds him, Fan told HuffPost. If you were to push an elderly person to the ground, and they die, you wouldnt say, Well, its their fault. Theyre elderly.

In a way, its a distraction issue, Fan said of Floyds health.

The blue wall is cracking or maybe were just seeing another side of it.

Arradondo, the Minneapolis police chief, emphasized how Chauvin had absolutely violated the departments policy on use of force on the stand.

Theres an initial reasonableness in trying to get him under control in the first few seconds, but once there was no longer any resistance, and clearly when Mr. Floyd was no longer responsive, and even motionless, to continue to apply that level of force to a person proned out, handcuffed behind their back, that in no way, shape or form is anything that is by policy, Arradondo said. Its not part of our training, and it is certainly not part of our ethics or values.