(MINNEAPOLIS, Minn.) — The court battle against Derek Chauvin, the ex-Minneapolis Police Officer accused of killing George Floyd after kneeling on his neck while in custody, continued Monday with Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo on the witness stand.
Arradondo, who is the highest-profile witness to take the stand, said Chauvin violated numerous use-of-force and ethics policies in the fatal on May 25, 2020 incident.
When asked if he believed the use of force demonstrated by Chauvin was proper according to training and policy of Minneapolis police, Arradondo answered, “I absolutely do not agree with that.”
“That action is not de-escalation and when we talk about the framework of our sanctity of life and when we talk about the principles and values that we have that action goes contrary to what we’re taught,” he added.
When attorneys showed a picture of Chauvin kneeling on Floyd’s neck, of which he was recorded doing so for nine minutes and 29 seconds, Arradondo said that was not a “conscious neck restraint” his officers have been trained to use.
Added the chief, “I absolutely agree that violates our policy.” He also said Chauvin should have stopped using the restraint once Floyd “had stopped resisting and certainly once he was in distress.”
Arrondondo terminated Chauvin, a 19-year veteran officer, the day after his fatal encounter with Floyd.
Minneapolis police Inspector Katie Blackwell — who knew Chavin for nearly 20 years and was the department’s training commander at the time of Floyd’s death — was also invited to the stand and, when asked if the restraint technique used on Floyd was proper, she responded, “It is not.”
Dr. Bradford Lagenfeld, another star witness and who declared Floyd dead, said the primary reason for Floyd’s cardiac arrest was a lack of oxygen — saying he likely died from asphyxia.
Added Lanenfeld during cross examination regarding the fentanyl and methamphetamine found in Floyd’s system that the use of those drugs can cause shortness of breath and suppress a person’s breathing.