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MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — Day two of the Derek Chauvin trial brought emotional testimony from people who witnessed George Floyd’s final moments at East 38th Street and Chicago Avenue in Minneapolis on May 25, 2020.
There were a total of six eyewitness that testified Tuesday, and what was striking is how similar there testimony was.
Donald Williams, a mixed martial arts fighter, testified he was so upset watching now-former police officer Chauvin hold his knee on Floyd’s neck that he called 911.
“I did call the police on the police,” Williams said.
“And why did you do that?” defense attorney Eric Nelson said.
“Because I believed I witnessed a murder.” Williams said.
Donald Williams and Genevieve Hansen at the scene of George Floyd’s death (credit: CBS)
Williams at times wiped away tears. Nelson tried to stress that Williams and other bystanders were intimidating and distracting Chauvin.
“You called him a bum at last 13 times,” Nelson said.
“That’s what you count in the video?” Williams said.
“That’s what I counted,” Nelson said.
“And that’s what you got, 13,” Williams said.
Also testifying were several teen witnesses. Darnella Frazier was not shown on camera because she was 17 at the time of the incident. She went to Cup Foods with her younger cousin that night, and was so disturbed by what she saw that she recorded the nearly ten-minute video that went viral.
“I see a man on the ground … A man terrified, scared, begging for his life,” Frazier said.
She said through tears the incident has forever changed her
“When I look at George Floyd, I look at my dad, I look at my brothers, because they are all Black,” Frazier said.
The memory keeps her up at night
“I stayed up … apologizing to George Floyd for not doing more,” she said.
Eric Nelson and Derek Chauvin (credit: CBS)
Another teenage, Alyssa Funari, took video that had not been seen publicly before Tuesday. It was played side-by-side with surveillance video from across the street. Because she was 17 at the time, only her audio was played on the courtroom feed.
“I was upset because there was nothing we could do as bystanders except watch them take this man’s life before our eyes,” Funari said.
Also testifying Tuesday afternoon in uniform was Minneapolis firefighter Genevieve Hansen, who was also a witness. She took yet another video of the fatal encounter, where she is seen arguing with Chauvin and now-former officer Tou Thao to take Floyd’s pulse. She testified that she also called 911. She broke down as she testified that the officers would not let her intervene and help Floyd.
“I was desperate to help and I wasn’t getting what I needed to do,” Hansen said.
Also played in court was her 911 call.
“I literally watched police officers not take a pulse and not do anything to save a man,” Hansen said in the call.
Chauvin is charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter, and also third-degree murder. The trial is expected to last several more weeks.
Source: CBS Minnesota
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