During Chauvin trial closing arguments, prosecutor tells jury 'Believe your eyes'
During closing arguments in the trial of former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin on Monday, prosecutor Steve Schleicher told the jury to listen to common sense as they consider the evidence in the death of George Floyd. “Believe your eyes,” he said. “What you saw, you saw.”
Video transcript
STEVE SCHLEICHER: The prone position is a transitory position. It's a position you use to secure someone in handcuffs, and when you're done with that, you immediately roll them on their side. Right? That's the position he was in. [? Proneing ?] him was completely unnecessary, and this is where the excessive force begins. Right?
This is where the 9 minutes and 29 seconds start, because they didn't just lay him prone. They did not do that. They stayed on top of him with a knee on the neck, and a knee on the back, and the defendant's weight on Mr. Floyd, pushing down, with Officer Kueng, adding to the pressure. Pushing down, holding his feet. Officer Lane, holding his feet for 9 minutes and 29 seconds.
That's when the excessive force began. That's when the countdown began. Now, you need to sort of pull back and take a look. You've learned a lot about policies, and procedures, and tactics. You have to pull back and say, would, but for the defendant's actions pushing him down, would George Floyd died that day?
The drugs? He just miraculously [INAUDIBLE] and died of drug overdose in that time? Maybe it was the tailpipe. Maybe it was his enlarged heart. Maybe not. Use your common sense. Use your common sense. Believe your eyes. What you saw, you saw.
