George Floyd’s brother says trial against Chauvin should be a ‘slam dunk’
To Philonise Floyd, a second-degree murder conviction for Derek Chauvin would be appropriate, as it would 'clearly show that he killed my brother.'
The murder trial of former Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin is set to begin today.
Chauvin was filmed kneeling on the neck of George Floyd for nearly nine minutes last May, sparking global protests against American police violence that disproportionately affects Black people.
In an interview Monday on TODAY, Philonise Floyd, the brother of the murdered man, said of his family: “We’re feeling good.”
“We know that this case, to us, is a slam dunk because we know the video is the proof, that’s all you need,” he told NBC’s Craig Melvin. The guy was kneeling on my brother’s neck for eight minutes and 46 seconds, a guy who was sworn in to protect. He killed my brother in broad daylight.”
“That was a modern-day lynching,” Philonise Floyd said this morning on TODAY.
Chauvin is facing three possible outcomes. He could be found guilty of second-degree murder, third-degree murder or manslaughter. A fourth outcome? He could also be acquitted.
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Philonise Floyd indicated that a second-degree murder conviction would be appropriate, saying it would “clearly show that he killed my brother.”
“My brother was standing up just fine until [Chauvin] put him on the ground,” he said, “with his hands behind his back in the prone position, face-down, and he decided to kill my brother, along with the other officers, because nobody tried to render aid.”
Three other former Minneapolis Police officers — Tou Thao, Thomas Lane and J. Alexander Kueng — were all present on the scene at the time of George Floyd’s death on May 25. They have been charged with both aiding and abetting second-degree murder and aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter.
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Their trial is not set to start until August, and it is unclear if they will testify against Chauvin.
The disgraced officer’s defense team will likely note that Floyd had fentanyl and methamphetamine in his system at the time of his death. However, Floyd family attorney Benjamin Crump pushed back against that defense, calling it a strategy out of “the same old playbook.”
“What killed George,” said Crump, “was a knee on his neck when he said I can’t breathe 28 times.”
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