That's the claim. His Sargeant testified between 3:30 and 4:15 today that "positional asphyxiation" is a thing, and everyone in the force has been trained on it for 10 or 15 years. This means that if you've got somebody in a prone position, you get them into "the recovery position" once they stop resisting.
The recovery position hasn't been defined, but it's on your side to assist breathing. We don't know if the tilt GF was held at counts as "the recovery position."
Chauvin's Sargeant also said that "positional asphyxiation" could occur with NO pressure applied while in the prone position. It was not followed up yet to establish if adding pressure might accelerate asphyxiation. Either way, this does away with the autopsy finding no damage to the windpipe being a slam dunk that Police activity made no contribution to GF's death.
The Sargeant testified that after GF stopped resisting in the maximal restraint, all restraint could have ceased. The hearing did not establish if restraint SHOULD have ceased.
Lots of tense moments, determining what questions would be allowed.
Everybody seems to think guilt or innocence is a foregone conclusion, which makes a mockery of the very concept of justice. Medical experts may or may not be able to establish cause of death or how much drugs contributed, medical conditions, or Police use of force. That's always what this case has been about.
The idea that "the trial is over" has no merit. The verdict will be up to 15 Jurors; hopefully they want to hear all the evidence and use good judgment. They can override political theater, or perpetuate it. Either way, this is NOT under the control of the elites.
You could be right.
The liability for not giving care may prove to be several years behind bars + loss of career.
We'll see ...
But Chauvin (or his partner) did call for an ambulance, though apparently the initial call didn't indicate that it needed to be top priority (lights and sirens), presumably because they didn't believe Floyd was in that bad condition at the time. I'm not clear on whether the follow-up call, which did push it up to lights-and-sirens priority) was made by Chauvin or his partner, or by someone else on the scene. The liability to a city/county and its law enforcement department if it did not have a policy in place of officers calling for an ambulance if a detainee says "I can't breathe" would be measured in millions of dollars, not prison time (the latter being for an officer not following the policy).
From what I've read, Chauvin was not exactly an exemplary officer, but I don't believe for a second that he is in any way responsible for Floyd's death.
Calling for an ambulance is not giving care.
Who exactly placed the call may come out, but I don't see how it matters since the call was placed. Level 2 vs 3 shouldn't matter, they were 2 blocks away from the hospital.
If Chauvin's found guilty of anything, it'll be based on continuing to restrain rather than giving care. Just my hunch. It'll be interesting to see the rest of it play out
Remember cops video cams show them worried about the crowd and the paramedics also testified that the crowd appeared hostile and that they thought the scene was dangerous. That’s why they did a load and go. Defense appears to be making a case that maintaining control over the crowd and keeping themselves in a safe position was how they justified their actions.