Jurors on Monday began mulling the fate of a white ex-Minneapolis policeman accused of killing African-American George Floyd, a death that sparked a nationwide reckoning on racism and which prosecutors called a "shocking abuse of authority."
"You must be absolutely fair," Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill said in his final instructions to the jury hearing the case against former officer Derek Chauvin. "Consider and weigh the evidence and apply the law."
Chauvin, 45, is charged with murder and manslaughter over Floyd's May 25, 2020 death, which sparked protests against racial injustice around the world and has become a landmark test of police accountability.
Demonstrators near the George Floyd Memorial in Minneapolis, Minnesota Photo: AFP / Kerem Yucel
Chauvin was captured on video kneeling on the neck of Floyd as the 46-year-old Black man was pinned facedown handcuffed on the ground for more than nine minutes complaining "I can't breathe."
In the prosecution's closing arguments to the jury, which will be sequestered during deliberations, it repeatedly showed and referenced the video which was seen by millions around the world.
"This case is exactly what you thought when you saw it first, when you saw that video," prosecutor Steve Schleicher told the jury.
"You can believe your eyes," Schleicher said. "It's exactly what you knew, it's what you felt in your gut, it's what you now know in your heart."
Derek Chauvin (R) addresses the court in this screenshot from Court TV Photo: Court TV / Alex LEDERMAN
"This wasn't policing, this was murder," Schleicher said. "Nine minutes and 29 seconds of shocking abuse of authority.
"The defendant is guilty of all three counts. And there's no excuse."
Presenting his closing arguments, defense attorney Eric Nelson told the jury they need to look at Chauvin's actions "from the perspective of a reasonable police officer."
Civil rights activist the Rev. Al Sharpton arrives at the Hennepin County Government Center Minneapolis, Minnesota, where closing arguments are to take place in the trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin Photo: GETTY IMAGES / Brandon Bell
"He did not purposefully use unlawful force. These are officers doing their job," Nelson said. "You have to take into account that officers are human beings capable of making mistakes."
He defended the actions of Chauvin and the other officers who held Floyd down on the ground.
"This was not a neck restraint. This was not a choke hold," he said.
Workers fortify government buildings in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota Photo: GETTY IMAGES / SCOTT OLSON
Nelson said Floyd's heart disease and drug use were factors in his death.
"They're trying to convince you that Mr. Floyd's heart disease played no role," he said.
"I'm not suggesting this was an overdose death," Nelson said, "but it is a preposterous notion to say that this did not come into play here."
Minneapolis residents are getting ready for the outcome in the trial of the white ex-police officer accused of murdering African-American George Floyd, a case that has come to be seen as a pivotal test of police accountability. Across the city, stores are being boarded up, in case riots break out. Photo: AFPTV / Eleonore SENS
Nelson urged the jury to find Chauvin not guilty: "The state has failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt."
Schleicher, the prosecutor, said Chauvin violated training, did not follow the police department's use of force rules and did not perform CPR on Floyd.
"George Floyd was not a threat to anyone," Schleicher said. "He was not trying to hurt anyone."
Chauvin, a 19-year veteran of the Minneapolis Police Department, faces a maximum of 40 years in prison if convicted of the most serious charge -- second-degree murder.
Tensions are high as the jury begins deliberations, with National Guard troops deployed in the Minnesota city after Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old Black man, was shot dead in a Minneapolis suburb on April 11 by a white policewoman.
White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki was asked during her daily briefing about the level of preparedness ahead of the verdict.
"We are in touch with local authorities, we are in touch with states, with governors, with mayors," Psaki said. "We will continue to encourage peaceful protests, but we're not going to get ahead of the verdict."
Nelson asked the judge to declare a mistrial after Maxine Waters, a Democratic member of Congress from California, attended a protest in Minnesota and called for a guilty verdict and more demonstrations.
"I hope that we are going to get a verdict that will say, guilty guilty guilty," Waters said. "We've got to stay in the street and we've got to demand justice.
A visibly frustrated Judge Cahill denied the request for a mistrial but said "I wish that elected officials would stop talking about this case."
Among the 38 witnesses who testified for the prosecution were some of the bystanders who watched Floyd's arrest for allegedly using a counterfeit $20 bill to buy a pack of cigarettes.
Darnella Frazier, the teenager who took the video that went viral, said Floyd was "scared" and "begging for his life."
Chauvin, dressed in a light grey suit and dark blue shirt and blue tie, took off his face mask to listen to closing arguments.
Much of the evidence phase of the trial involved testimony from medical experts about Floyd's cause of death.
Medical experts called by the prosecution said Floyd died from hypoxia, or a lack of oxygen, from Chauvin's knee on his neck and that drugs were not a factor.
The defense called a retired police officer who said Chauvin's use of force against Floyd was "justified."
Police officers testifying for the prosecution -- including the city police chief -- said it was excessive and unnecessary.
