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Chauvin Defense Seeks To Blame Witnesses, Not Cops, In Floyd's Death

Chauvin Defense Seeks To Blame Witnesses, Not Cops, In Floyd's Death

The criminal trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin entered its seventh day on Tuesday, with the prosecution trying to show jurors that Chauvin used seriously excessive force constituting murder and manslaughter during the arrest of George Floyd on May 25, 2020 and Chauvin's defense attorney, Eric Nelson, arguing that he didn't. And one of Nelson's tactics during the trial has been claiming that bystanders wanted to intimidate Chauvin during the arrest.

Nelson, questioning Minneapolis Police Lt. Johnny Mercil, asked, "If they're cheering on and saying, 'Good job, officer,' that's one consideration, correct? But if they're saying, 'I'd slap the fuck out of you' or 'You're a pussy, you're a chump,' would that reasonably tend to rise alarm in a police officer?" And Mercil responded, "Yes, sir."

On cross-examination, however, the prosecution brought up the fact that some of the bystanders who witnessed Floyd's arrest weren't insulting Chauvin — they were pleading with him not to end Floyd's life when the officer had him pinned to the ground with his knee on his neck.

The prosecution asked Mercil, "And if they're saying, 'Get off him, you're killing him,' should the officer also take that into account and consider whether their actions need to be reassessed?"

The Recount, reporting on the trial on Twitter, noted that trying to blame witnesses for Floyd's death has been a recurring tactic with Nelson. On March 29, The Recount tweeted:

Nelson said the officers perceived the crowd watching Chauvin kneel on Floyd as a threat and that diverted "their attention from the care of Mr. Floyd."


Missouri Republican Senate hopeful Mark McCloskey, right, and his wife Patricia McCloskey.

GOP Senate Hopeful And Wife Plead Guilty After Waving Guns At Protestors

Reprinted with permission from American Independent

A Republican Senate hopeful in Missouri and his wife pleaded guilty on Thursday to misdemeanor charges. The pair became conservative movement heroes last June after they brandished guns at nonviolent protestors marching against systemic racism.

Mark McCloskey admitted to fourth-degree assault and to pay a $750 fine. His wife, Patricia, will pay $2,000 for second-degree harassment. Both will forfeit the firearms used.

"The prosecutor dropped every charge except for alleging that I purposely placed other people in imminent risk of physical injury, right, and I sure as heck did," Mark McCloskey told reporters. The two had originally been indicted in October on felony counts of unlawful use of a weapon and evidence tampering.

"That's what the guns were there for and I'd do it again any time the mob approaches me, I'll do what I can to place them in imminent threat of physical injury because that's what kept them from destroying my house and my family," he added.

The McCloskeys made national news for their response to Black Lives Matter protestors from the lawn of their St. Louis home. The couple resides in the same gated community as then-St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson, whose home protestors were marching on to protest her actions in the wake of the George Floyd murder. As the activists marched, Patricia pointed a handgun at them and Mark held an AR-15 rifle.

After this incident, the Republican National Committee invited the pair to speak at the August 2020 national convention. "What you saw happen to us could just as easily happen to any of you who are watching from quiet neighborhoods around our country," they warned voters in a fearmongering speech.

Last month, Mark McCloskey — an attorney — announced that he would seek the GOP nomination for the seat of retiring Republican Sen. Roy Blunt.

"An angry mob marched to destroy my home and kill my family, I took a stand to defend them," he tweeted. "I am a proven fighter against the mob When the mob comes to destroy our home, our state, our nation— I'll defend it I will NEVER BACK DOWN."

He brags on his campaign website that he and his wife "held off a violent mob through the exercise of their 2nd Amendment rights." And he promises to "continue fighting for President Trump's agenda" if elected and to defend "law and order."

Other candidates running for the nomination include Attorney General Eric Schmitt, who opposed charging the McCloskeys and claimed they were just "defending their property and safety"; Rep. Vicky Hartzler, one of Congress' most extreme opponents of LGBTQ rights; and ex-Gov. Eric Greitens, who resigned from office in the face of an alleged revenge porn scandal in 2018.

Published with permission of Thee American Independent Foundation.

"Convict All Four" sign at the Hennepin County Government Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Federal Grand Jury Indicts Four Ex-Cops In Floyd Murder​

Reprinted with permission from American Independent

A federal grand jury has indicted the four former Minneapolis police officers involved in George Floyd's arrest and death, accusing them of willfully violating the Black man's constitutional rights as he was restrained face-down on the pavement and gasping for air.

A three-count indictment unsealed Friday names Derek Chauvin, Thomas Lane, J. Kueng, and Tou Thao. Chauvin was convicted last month on state charges of murder and manslaughter and is appealing. The other three are set for state trial on Aug. 23. It's not clear what will happen in this case, but generally the state charges play out before federal charges do.

The indictment sends a strong message about the Justice Department's priorities. Floyd's May 25 arrest and death, which a bystander captured on cellphone video, sparked mass protests nationwide that called for an end to racial inequalities and police mistreatment of Black people.

When President Joe Biden was elected, he promised he'd work to end disparities in the criminal justice system. The indictments were handed down about a week after federal prosecutors brought hate crimes charges in the death of 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia and announced two sweeping probes into policing in two states.

The Rev. Al Sharpton said the federal charges against the officers show the Justice Department "does not excuse it nor allow police to act as though as what they do is acceptable behavior in the line of duty."

"What we couldn't get them to do in the case of Eric Garner, Michael Brown in Ferguson, and countless others, we are finally seeing them do today," Sharpton said.

Floyd, 46, died after Chauvin pinned him to the ground with a knee on his neck, even as Floyd, who was handcuffed, repeatedly said he couldn't breathe. Kueng and Lane also helped restrain Floyd — state prosecutors have said Kueng knelt on Floyd's back and Lane held down Floyd's legs. State prosecutors say Thao held back bystanders and kept them from intervening during the 9 1/2-minute restraint.

Lane, Thao, and Kueng made initial court appearances Friday via videoconference in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis, and remain free on bond. Chauvin is held in state custody as he awaits sentencing on the state charges and hasn't yet appeared in federal court.

While all four officers are charged broadly with depriving Floyd of his rights while acting under government authority, the indictment breaks down the counts. A count against Chauvin alleges he violated Floyd's right to be free from unreasonable seizure and from unreasonable force by a police officer.

Thao and Kueng are charged with violating Floyd's right to be free from unreasonable seizure by not intervening to stop Chauvin as he knelt on Floyd's neck. It's not clear why Lane, who held down Floyd's legs, is not mentioned in that count, but evidence in the state's case shows that Lane had asked twice whether Floyd should be rolled on his side. All four officers are charged for their failure to provide Floyd with medical care.

Chauvin was also charged in a second indictment, stemming from the use of force and neck restraint of a 14-year-old boy in 2017.

Chauvin's attorney, Eric Nelson, argued during his murder trial that Chauvin acted reasonably and Floyd died because of underlying health issues and drug use. He has filed a request for a new trial.

Nelson had no comment on the federal charges. Kueng's attorney also had no comment. A message left for Thao's attorney wasn't immediately returned, and Lane's attorney was unable to talk when reached by The Associated Press, and messages left later were not returned.

Ben Crump and the team of attorneys for Floyd's family said the civil rights charges reinforce "the strength and wisdom" of the Constitution. "We are encouraged by these charges and eager to see continued justice in this historic case that will impact Black citizens and all Americans for generations to come," the attorneys said in a statement.

To bring federal charges in deaths involving police, prosecutors must believe an officer acted under the "color of law," or government authority, and willfully deprived someone of their constitutional rights. That's a high legal standard. An accident, bad judgment or simple negligence on the officer's part isn't enough to support federal charges; prosecutors have to prove the officer knew what he was doing was wrong in that moment but did it anyway.

The indictment in Floyd's death says Chauvin kept his left knee on Floyd's neck as he was handcuffed and unresisting. Thao and Kueng allegedly were aware Chauvin had his knee on Floyd's neck, even after Floyd became unresponsive, and "willfully failed to intervene to stop Defendant Chauvin's use of unreasonable force." All four officers are charged with willfully depriving Floyd of liberty without due process, including the right to be free from "deliberate indifference to his serious medical needs."

The other indictment, against Chauvin only, alleges he deprived a 14-year-old boy of his right to be free of unreasonable force when he held the teen by the throat, hit him in the head with a flashlight and held his knee on the boy's neck and upper back while he was prone, handcuffed and unresisting.

According to a police report from that 2017 encounter, Chauvin wrote that the teen resisted arrest and after the teen, whom he described as 6-foot-2 and about 240 pounds, was handcuffed, Chauvin "used body weight to pin" him to the floor. The boy was bleeding from the ear and needed two stitches.

That encounter was one of several mentioned in state court filings that prosecutors said showed Chauvin had used neck or head and upper body restraints seven times before dating back to 2014, including four times state prosecutors said he went too far and held the restraints "beyond the point when such force was needed under the circumstances."

Bob Bennett, an attorney for the teenager, said the "familiar behavior" from Chauvin showed Floyd wasn't his first victim.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, whose office is prosecuting the state charges, said the federal government is responsible for protecting the civil rights of every American and "federal prosecution for the violation of George Floyd's civil rights is entirely appropriate."

Chauvin was convicted on state charges of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter. Experts say he will likely face no more than 30 years in prison when he is sentenced June 25. The other officers face charges alleging they aided and abetted second-degree murder and manslaughter.

Any federal sentence would be served at the same time as a state sentence.

At the White House on Friday, press secretary Jen Psaki said Biden didn't have a direct reaction to the indictments. She added that the George Floyd case was "a reminder of the need to put police reform in place through our legislative process."