The Minneapolis police chief made it clear in testimony yesterday that Derek Chauvin's use of force against George Floyd was not following department policy. The trial is unusual in that so many officers have testified against Chauvin. Via CNN:
(CNN) Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo on Monday thoroughly rejected Derek Chauvin's actions and use of force during the arrest of George Floyd last May as contrary to department policy.
"Once Mr. Floyd had stopped resisting, and certainly once he was in distress and trying to verbalize that, that should have stopped," Arradondo testified during Chauvin's criminal trial.
"There is an initial reasonableness in trying to just get him under control in the first few seconds," Arradondo said. "But once there was no longer any resistance and clearly when Mr. Floyd was no longer responsive and even motionless, to continue to apply that level of force to a person proned out, handcuffed behind their back -- that in no way shape or form is anything that is by policy. It is not part of our training, and it is certainly not part of our ethics or our values."
In particular, the chief said Chauvin's kneeling on Floyd for nine minutes and 29 seconds was a violation of the policies around de-escalation, objectively reasonable use of force and requirement to render aid.
