The first week of the trial of the former Minneapolis police officer charged with murder in George Floyd’s death concluded Friday with the longest-serving member of the police department testifying that it was “totally unnecessary” for Derek Chauvin to kneel on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes as he lay handcuffed on his stomach.
Kneeling on Floyd’s neck while he was in the prone position was “top-tier, deadly force” that didn’t need to be used in that situation, testified Lt. Richard Zimmerman, who joined the department in 1985.
“If your knee is on a person’s neck, that can kill him,” Zimmerman said.
Zimmerman, who leads the department’s homicide unit, also testified that once Floyd was handcuffed, he saw “no reason for why the officers felt they were in danger if that’s what they felt. And that’s what they would have to feel to be able to use that kind of force.” (Continued)