Minneapolis (SD) – Court in Minneapolis have begun hearing the opening arguments for the trial of a white officer accused of killing George Floyd.
Prosecutors highlighted the officers actions which led to Mr. Floyd death.
“He put his knees upon his neck and his back, grinding and crushing him, until the very breath — no, ladies and gentlemen — until the very life, was squeezed out of him,” Prosecutor Jerry Blackwell said.
Derek Chauvin, a police officer, denied the allegations of the murder but was filmed sitting on Mr. Floyd’s neck.
Eric J. Nelson, Chauvin’s lead defence counsel, told the jury that the “evidence is far greater than nine minutes and 29 seconds.
“You will learn that Derek Chauvin did exactly what he had been trained to do over the course of his 19-year career,” Nelson said.
A video released last year, has sparked protests in the United States and around the world, in support of the Black Lives matter movement.
The National Guard was deployed to the Minneapolis court house to maintain security.
Security was maintained at the court complex, with the deployment of a National Guard.
George Floyd, 46, was a security guard at a Minneapolis club.
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