I’m not trying to make him look bad or anything I am genuinely curious from a law perspective what would be fair to convict him of vs. what he has been currently convicted of.
Comments (37)
sorted by:
I’m not trying to make him look bad or anything I am genuinely curious from a law perspective what would be fair to convict him of vs. what he has been currently convicted of.
None as it should never of even got to court, he was doing his job that the state asked him to do.
Manslaughter. Thought the jury was going to say Floyd overdosed and Chauvin didn't do anything the assist. Cops came up and where worried about floyd, bystanders. But I didn't watch the whole thing and just kept up by reading along the case.
Thought reasonable doubt was enough to get the murder charges dropped.
I believe they radioed for help/an ambulance and he was also resisting arrest and it looked like they were waiting for him to calm down.
Chauvin didn't shove drugs in him or beat up his heart etc. Many variables indicates doubt. Jury cucked out.
Your not wrong, but when another cop came up and voiced some concerns and Chauvin didn't seem to change how he was behaving, I think put manslaughter on the table.
Your right about Floyd struggling, and I think there is argument about how much you can expect the cops to believe Floyd (considering how he was acting up to point) vs them just thinking floyd is lying/ trying to play the system. I thought the idea of "what reasonably could the cops know/do" given the whole situation would lead to him walking more than him getting guilty of all charges.
That said, like I said earlier I kinda read along and felt like I had the "Just" of the case, but didn't sit and watch every minute. I could have missed something.
I watched the whole trial. he was convicted on mere suggestion of guilt, because there was nothing there to convict him, let alone ignore reasonable doubt. His conviction is as unjust as if they picked a random person on the other side of the country to charge and convict instead. That's how far away from being the cause of Floyd's death he is.
Let's look at it again......a drug addict with more than 5x the lethal dose of drugs in his system, with heart disease, with a 90% blocked artery, having taken fentanyl and meth, which constricts arteries, with a tumor in his stomach that produces adrenaline and leaks it into his body, with COVID, while being stressed from being arrested for committing a crime.....and somehow none of this caused Floyd's death. The guy was literally a walking dead man.
I mean hell, they even had proof that Floyd was tampering with evidence in the police car, they found parts of chewed pills in the squad car with Floyd's DNA on it. They have video of others in the car pulling drugs from the car and a backpack and tossing them. They have proof that Chauvin's knee was never actually entirely on Floyd's neck, and that most of the time when it appears to be on the neck, the body cam angle from other officers shows it's actually on Floyd's back, between his shoulder blades. They have medical expert testimony that it was physically impossible for Chauvin to have cut off blood or air, or even really reduce it significantly enough.
Facts don't matter.
I didn’t know about the knee. I didn’t follow the whole thing but if that is actually the case that is not good.
That is actually the case. It was because wide angle smartphone camera's distort perspective. So it'll give you a wider view, but that's not reality. They showed it in court. They showed the video of him on the neck, then showed another officers bodycam footage that showed he wasn't actually on the neck at all, he was in between Floyd's shoulder blades. They synced the videos so they were the same exact moment in time.
They even had experts come and say that even if he was on Floyd's neck, it wouldn't have killed him, backed up by studies and research. You have two neck arteries, both need to be blocked to stop blood flow, and also proved that you couldn't possibly close or even meaningfully restrict someone's throat with a knee on the neck like that. The same was also proven about Floyd's position asphyxiation. They proved that even if Chauvin was on his neck and there was another person of over 220lbs standing on Floyd's back, that Floyd would have still been able to breathe. They proved through physics, that most of Chauvin's weight was carried by Chauvin's feet. In other words, he may have been putting leverage on Floyd, but he wasn't actually putting substantial weight on Floyd, estimated to be as little as 20lbs.
I’ll have to rewatch the trial. That sounds very factual but in today’s day of information I must “trust but verify”
Manslaughter at most... and that's a stretch. Floyd asked to be pulled out of the car, the knee was on his shoulder, there's no trauma to the neck area, O2SAT 98%, tox screen showed Floyd "tasted the rainbow" of drugs. The motherfucker had OD'd prior and had heart damage already.
So much reasonable doubt. It was definitely guilty by jury nullification.
I thought jury nullification was supposed to go the other way (not guilty due to disagreement with law). I guess this opens the door wide for similar juries to enable gross prosecutorial abuse. Just like jim crow South.
It can go both ways. Think "To kill a mockingbird."
His knee was on his shoulder?
I second this pede's observation
Did his knee actually play a role in his death? That’s where I am confused. If he overdosed while his knee was on his neck it’s hard to prove if that played a role. I definitely think a knee in the back of the neck is painful but it is important to know if that played any factor towards death.
No. No bruising or swelling even around the neck or throat, 98% oxygen in his blood. The guy didn't die because his breathing was obstructed.
none
Manslaughter at most
Not saying the death could have been prevented, but the optics of it could have. Floyd was already restrained. Once someone is in custody, they are that officers “baby”. If he is already restrained and saying he can’t breathe you need to do your due diligence and make sure they can. He was surrounded, in cuffs, and in prone position. Sit him up and wait for either an ambulance or take him away.
True that. Tbh, this points again to a drug and mental health issue more than anything.
He said he couldn't breathe before they tried to put him in the car, seated, when he kicked and fought, then wanted to be put on the ground. Excited delirium coupled with big size disparity. Sounds like equivalent of "they should have shot him.in the leg". He gets his legs under him, he can hulk out like in the car. After more evidence and tape rolled out, the force seems less crazy / negligent.
If he gets out then tase him. They have the tools they need to take care of one guys, especially if there’s 3 of them. Once Floyd was in cuffs, it was Chauvins responsibility to safely get him to the hospital or jail.
Ems was en route witty sirens. Tase a guy hopped up on having an episode complaining of breathing....just a faster death (more stress on cardio pulmonary system). Maybe roll him on his side helps, maybe not. Too many variables.
I appreciate your sincere question
Yeah too much emotional vomit sometimes on these issues.
Yes definitely
Should have just sat that fer down and called 911 and waited
I don't think George Floyd was killed. If he had been, the blood test at the hospital would have been impossible. The oxygen in his blood was at normal levels, but the opiates were well above fatal levels.
Manslaughter
Enough reasonable doubt even on manslaughter, based on evidence presented imo. Would've expected 1 out of 12 to have doubt, but here we are. No way you get simultaneous convictions on all counts. The jury played along (willfully or via coercion) with prosecution's game.
Chauvin did not go into this thinking he was going to kill someone, therefore no premeditation, planning, or anything like that for murder. Autopsy, toxicology, everything pointed to lots of other reasons Floyd could have died. I believe Floyd was a dead man walking & Chauvin unfortunately for involved. The stress of the arrest contributed I believe, but the officer was doing his job with the least force legally available, returned he could have tasered & decided not to, he was de-escalating the situation. They called for paramedics, they did everything right. Manslaughter would be fair.
Going in thinking of murdering is first degree. Second degree (that he got charged for) was he didn’t intend to murder Floyd but once he got the knee on his neck he intended to kill him. I don’t personally think the knee contributed to his death and that Chauvin knew he could kill him with his knee. I would say manslaughter would fit.
Manslaughter at the absolute most. The jury caved just like the Supreme Court. We’re doomed.
Giving the left a photo op ought to be a crime. Other than that, he did nothing wrong.
Do you think the knee on the neck was excessive? It is supposed to be on the back I believe based on Minnesota’s practice.
It was on the back according to bodycam and different video angles.