Ex-Officer Derek Chauvin Invokes 5th Amendment Right

Re-Cap: Derek Chauvin is a former police officer who is on trial for the death of George Floyd, a gentleman whom he was arresting.

Memorial day 2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. George Floyd went to a local store to purchase a pack of cigarettes. He handed the store employee a $20 bill. The employee stated the bill had a blue hue to it, similar to $100 bills. After looking it over, he determined the bill was counterfeit.

The employee showed the bill to his manager and was asked to fetch Floyd and bring him back to the store. After approaching the vehicle and speaking to Floyd and the other two passengers, they stated to their manager that they were refused.

Not only did Floyd and his passengers refuse to pay for the cigarettes with valid cash, but the store employee stated that Floyd definitely looked to on some sort of drug. On store surveillance camera, Floyd can be seen dancing around and in an overall good mood.

The man in the passenger seat of the car, Morries Hall, has been named by family and friends of Floyd to have been a source where Floyd received his drugs. Hall was set to be a key witness for the defense. The defense was going to ask Hall about what drugs Floyd was using in the vehicle that evening. The defense's case states that Floyd had died from the drugs and not being held down by police.

When the day came for Hall to take the stand, he told his lawyer he wanted to invoke his fifth amendment right. He was concerned that if he testified he provided drugs to Floyd and it was deemed that the drugs killed him, that it could be used later in a court of law. To protect himself, he invoked his fifth amendment right and did not testify.

After refusing to pay correctly for the cigarettes, the police were notified. After police arrived, they approached the vehicle and knocked on the window. Terrified, Floyd asked the police officer to not hurt him. The officer pulled his gun and put it in his face and asked him to put his hands on the wheel. They removed him from the vehicle and sat him down against the wall of the store where he spelled his name letter for letter.

They brought Floyd to the vehicle and tried to put him in the back of the vehicle. Floyd was stressing to the officers that he's claustrophobic and to please not put him in the vehicle. They pushed him into the back seat and he came out the other side. At that point, they put him in the prone position where they handcuffed him and held him down.

For over nine minutes, Ex-officer Chavin placed his knee on the back of Floyd's neck while the other two officers were holding down the rest of his body. During those nine minutes, Floyd was screaming and calling for help. He was screaming to the officers that he couldn't breathe. Instead of providing medical attention or moving his position, Chauvin stated that Floyd was speaking, so that means he could breathe.

Floyd later became unresponsive under Chauvin's knee. Emergency responders started their life-saving efforts. CPR was continued around the corner from the scene. Efforts came to no avail. No improvement showed from George Floyd. They then rushed him to the hospital where a team of medical professionals worked starting his heart, but there was no change. He was pronounced dead at the hospital.

The trial of Derek Chauvin started on March 29, 2021. On Thursday, April 15, 2021, Chauvin invoked his Fifth Amendment rights and will not testify in his own trial. Opinions are that if Chauvin did take the stand, the prosecution will bring up all of the marks that have previously been noted on his police record. So, instead of facing those potential questions, he's decided to not take the stand and let the jury make a decision without any statement from him.

Cited:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/04/15/derek-chauvin-trial/

https://www.nbcnews.com/george-floyd-death

https://www.insider.com/derek-chauvin-trial-passenger-george-floyds-car-pleads-the-fifth-2021-4