• Lexington
  • Rockbridge
  • Buena Vista
  • Sports
  • Business
  • Regional
  • In-Depth Reporting
  • About Us
Facebook Twitter Instagram
Rockbridge Report
Rockbridge Report
Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube LinkedIn
  • Lexington
  • Rockbridge
  • Buena Vista
  • Sports
  • Business
  • Regional
  • In-Depth Reporting
  • About Us
Tuesday, October 3
Rockbridge Report
Home»Crime»Teenager who recorded Chauvin video testifies in murder trial

Teenager who recorded Chauvin video testifies in murder trial

March 30, 20215 Mins Read
Protesters gather along a fence at the Hennepin County Government Center, Tuesday, March 30, 2021, in Minneapolis where the trial for former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin continues. Chauvin is charged with murder in the death of George Floyd during an arrest last May in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)

By Steve Karnowski and Amy Forliti, The Associated Press

As onlookers pleaded with Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin to take his knee off George Floyd’s neck, Chauvin just gave them a “cold” and “heartless” stare, the teenager who shot the harrowing video of the arrest testified Tuesday at Chauvin’s murder trial.

In sometimes-tearful testimony, Darnella Frazier, 18, said Chauvin continued to kneel on Floyd’s neck and fellow officer Tou Thao wouldn’t let onlookers get close, even when one of them identified herself as a firefighter and begged repeatedly to check Floyd’s pulse.

“They definitely put their hands on the Mace, and we all pulled back,” Frazier told the jury.

Frazier said of Chauvin: “He just stared at us, looked at us. He had like this cold look, heartless. He didn’t care. It seemed as if he didn’t care what we were saying.”

In this image from video provided by Darnella Frazier, Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin kneels on the neck of George Floyd in Minneapolis on Monday, May 25, 2020. (Darnella Frazier via AP)

Floyd’s death last May, along with the video of the Black man pleading that he couldn’t breathe and onlookers angrily yelling at the white officer to get off him, triggered sometimes-violent protests around the world and a reckoning over racism and police brutality across the U.S.

Frazier testified that she began recording the scene because “it wasn’t right, he was suffering, he was in pain.”

She said she had walked to a convenience store with her 9-year-old cousin when she came upon the officers, and sent the girl inside because she didn’t want her to see “a man terrified, scared, begging for his life.”

Frazier breathed heavily and wept as she viewed pictures of Chauvin kneeling on Floyd and after a prosecutor asked her to describe how the encounter changed her life.

She said she looks at her father and other Black men in her life, and “how that could have been one of them.”

“I stay up at night apologizing to George Floyd for not doing more … not saving his life,” she said, adding of Chauvin: “It’s not what I should have done, it’s what he should have done.”

In this image from video, Defense attorney Eric Nelson questions witness Donald Williams as Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill presides Tuesday, March 30, 2021, in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin at the Hennepin County Courthouse in Minneapolis, Minn. (Court TV via AP, Pool)

Chauvin attorney Eric Nelson sought repeatedly to show that Chauvin and his fellow officers found themselves in an increasingly tense and distracting situation, with the growing crowd of onlookers becoming agitated and menacing over Floyd’s treatment.

Under cross-examination from Nelson, Frazier said bystanders became increasingly upset by what they were seeing and got louder and louder, “more so as he was becoming more unresponsive.”

But when Frazier was asked by a prosecutor whether she saw violence anywhere on the scene, she replied: “Yes, from the cops. From Chauvin, and from officer Thao.”

Chauvin, 45, is charged with murder and manslaughter, accused of killing Floyd by pinning the 46-year-old handcuffed man to the pavement for what prosecutors said was 9 minutes and 29 seconds. Floyd was arrested after being accused of trying to pass a counterfeit $20 bill at the convenience store.

The most serious charge against the now-fired officer carries up to 40 years in prison.

The defense has argued that Chauvin did what his training told him to do and that Floyd’s death was not caused by the officer but by a combination of illegal drug use, heart disease, high blood pressure and the adrenaline flowing through his body.

When Frazier was asked to identify Chauvin in the pandemic-spaced courtroom, the officer stood up and took off his mask, appearing somber as he looked down and away.

In this image from video, witness Donald Williams wipes his eyes as he answers questions, as Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill presides Tuesday, March 30, 2021, in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin at the Hennepin County Courthouse in Minneapolis, Minn. (Court TV via AP, Pool)

Earlier Tuesday, Donald Williams, another one of the onlookers who shouted at Chauvin, testified that he called 911 after paramedics took Floyd away, “because I believed I witnessed a murder.”

Williams, a professional mixed martial arts fighter who said his training includes chokeholds, returned to the witness stand a day after describing seeing Floyd struggle for air, his eyes roll back in his head, and Floyd “slowly fade away … like a fish in a bag.”

On Tuesday, prosecutors played back Williams’ 911 call, in which a dispatcher offers to switch him to a sergeant. As he is being switched, Williams can he heard yelling at the officers at the scene, “Y’all is murderers, bro!”

During cross-examination, Chauvin’s attorney pointed out that Williams seemed to grow increasingly angry at the police, taunting Chauvin with “tough guy,” “bum” and other names, then calling Chauvin expletives, which the defense lawyer repeated in court.

Williams initially admitted he was getting angrier, but then backtracked and said he was controlled and professional and was pleading for Floyd’s life but wasn’t being heard.

Williams said he was stepping on and off the curb, and at one point, Thao, who was controlling the crowd, put his hand on Williams’ chest. Williams admitted under questioning that he told Thao he would beat the officers if Thao touched him again.

___

Find AP’s full coverage of the death of George Floyd at: https://apnews.com/hub/death-of-george-floyd

Related

Sept. 8, 2023 Newscast

rockbridgereport

The commonwealth’s attorney for Rockbridge Count The commonwealth’s attorney for Rockbridge County and Lexington said he wants victims of sexual assault at Washington and Lee University to seek help from police and prosecutors who can investigate and file criminal charges. 

In the past month, two former W&L students have faced sexual assault charges.

Read Ned Newton’s full story on our website, rockbridgereport.wlu.edu.
Lexington’s City Council has given the go-ahead Lexington’s City Council has given the go-ahead for a developer to begin drafting plans to build apartments off Spotswood Drive. 

The new permit approval comes after months of controversy about the design. 

Read Andrew Arnold’s full story on our website, rockbridgereport.wlu.edu.
A new, 24-hour EMS crew will help in providing bac A new, 24-hour EMS crew will help in providing backup services to Glasgow and other nearby cities and towns.

For more details on the new EMS crew, visit: https://youtu.be/k03HNBKB978.
Buddy, the horse, and Police Chief Angela Greene l Buddy, the horse, and Police Chief Angela Greene led the Lexington Christmas Parade. Buddy is one of the future Mounted Police Unit horses working with the Lexington police. 

Watch Buddy and the latest broadcast of the Rockbridge Report: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDZ4A6xuk-4
A developer sought final city approval this week t A developer sought final city approval this week to build 62 apartment units on Lexington’s Spotswood Drive.

Echelon Resources went before the city’s planning commission Thursday to request a permit allowing the developer company to construct multi-family housing at the Spotswood site. The planning commission will offer a recommendation for approval or denial to the Lexington City Council. The city council will likely have a final vote on the permit in early January.

The proposal received some pushback from Lexington residents who fear the development will significantly increase traffic, impede the local hospital, or strain the city’s water and sewer systems. 

For more details on the Spotswood proposal visit: https://rockbridgereport.academic.wlu.edu/2022/12/08/spotswood-drive-apartment-complex-moves-forward/
Lexington’s city manager is searching for a full Lexington’s city manager is searching for a full-time city attorney. The previous city attorney, Jared Jenkins, no longer serves in the position following his split from Mann Legal Group.

Learn more by visiting the Rockbridge Report website: https://rockbridgereport.academic.wlu.edu/2022/12/08/lexington-replaces-city-attorney/
Two students at Virginia Military Institute and Wa Two students at Virginia Military Institute and Washington and Lee University posted bomb threats on anonymous social media platforms last week.

After investigations, both posts proved to be false alarms. Disciplinary measures for the students are unclear. 

Read the full story here: https://rockbridgereport.academic.wlu.edu/2022/12/08/two-university-bomb-threats-posted-on-anonymous-social-media-proved-false/
Local nonprofits, like the Rockbridge Area Relief Local nonprofits, like the Rockbridge Area Relief Association (RARA) and Washington and Lee’s Campus Kitchen, will provide extra support for families facing food insecurity during the holidays.

Read more about this on the Rockbridge Report website: https://rockbridgereport.academic.wlu.edu/2022/12/08/community-groups-to-offer-food-to-students-and-their-families-during-holiday-break/
“Normal people can’t afford that." Lexington “Normal people can’t afford that."

Lexington is Stacey Dickerson-Suggs’ hometown, but the single mother can’t afford to live here. Virginia house prices are going up about 10% each year. In Lexington, the median price of a home has increased 27% in the past year.

Read more about this on the Rockbridge Report website: https://rockbridgereport.academic.wlu.edu/2022/12/08/lexington-renters-buyers-cant-find-affordable-housing/
Load More... Follow on Instagram
Twitter
My Tweets
Reporters

Luke Fountain

Jenny Hellwig

Jak Krouse

Emma Malinak

Fraley Williams

Producers

Christian Basnight

Jack Hunter

Teddy Jacobsen

Ned Newton

Billy Queally

 

Supervisors

Kevin Finch

Alecia Swasy

Michael Todd

Rockbridge Report
© 2023 ThemeSphere. Designed by ThemeSphere.

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

Go to mobile version
 

Loading Comments...