Chauvin trial witness tears up during testimony: ‘Y’all is murderers’
'You can’t paint me out to be angry,' said Donald Williams
Donald Williams gave an emotional testimony on Tuesday during the trial of former officer Derek Chauvin for the death of George Floyd. He recalled his conversation with the 911 dispatcher while on the stand.
In video footage of the trial, which was shared on Twitter by The Recount, Williams, a professional mixed martial arts fighter, tearfully remembered the day Floyd died. He spoke about his reason for calling 911 even though there were officers on the scene, and became emotional when listening to the call in court.
“That is correct, I did call the police on the police,” Williams remarked. When asked why, he responded “because I believe I witnessed a murder.”
Read More: Derek Chauvin legal team says he ‘did exactly what he was trained to do’
As the 911 conversation between Williams and the dispatcher was played, he wiped tears from his face.
“Y’all murderers,” he can be heard saying on the phone call. “Y’all ni***s is murderers bro.” He continued, “they killed that man in front of the store.”
He was then asked by Chauvin’s defense attorney, “do you recall saying ‘I dare you to touch me like that, I swear I’ll slap the f*** out of you.'”
William’s responded, “yeah, I did. I meant it.” He continued to defend his actions as the DA attempted to portray him as angry. “I grew professional and professional. I stayed in my body. You can’t paint me out to be angry.”
Read More: Al Sharpton, Floyd family kneel for eight minutes, 46 seconds as Chauvin trial begins
As theGrio previously reported, Chauvin’s trial began on Monday with prosecutor Jerry Blackwell and focused on the amount of time the former officer’s knee remained on Floyd’s neck as he begged for his life.
Blackwell said to jurors that Chauvin “didn’t let up, he didn’t get up” even after Floyd said 27 times that he couldn’t breathe before he stopped moving, according to the report.
“He put his knees upon his neck and his back, grinding and crushing him, until the very breath — no ladies and gentlemen — until the very life, was squeezed out of him,” Blackwell said.
Floyd’s family hopes the courts will grant them justice. According to theGrio, Philonise Floyd, the brother of the victim, said the family was “feeling good” during an interview ahead of the trial.
“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 according to the report. “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.”
He continued, ““That was a modern-day lynching.”
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