Chauvin Makes Some Bold Claims During First Day Of His Murder Trial

Derek Chauvin is the former Minneapolis police officer involved in the killing of George Floyd on May 25, 2020. During his murder trial, Chauvin’s defense attorney’s key point was that Floyd had died from drugs and not by the actions of his client.

Attorney Eric Nelson argued to the jury that there was more to the evidence than just 9 minutes of video. He then pointed to Floyd’s actions just prior to the police confrontation. Employees of a market say they saw Floyd and claimed he appeared to be under the influence of something. Nelson then got to the part where Floyd allegedly tried to spend a counterfeit $20 bill at the market.

According to Nelson, when police got the call from an employee inside the market they claimed Floyd appeared “drunk.” Then he told the jury that Floyd had fallen asleep in a car outside the market suggesting that he was under the influence of something.

When Floyd was confronted by the cops, Nelson said he “put drugs in his mouth” to hide them. He said an autopsy revealed a “speedball” in Floyd’s system, which contains meth and fentanyl.

Nelson said Floyd resisted three officers with incredible strength that caused the car they were in to rock violently back and forth. He noted that Chauvin was 5’9” and 140 lbs compared to Floyd at 6’3” and 240 lbs.

He also said Floyd had heart issues that were worsened by his excessive drug use.

Nelson says that the excitement of the horrified crowd and Floyd’s inebriated state contributed to his death.

“The use of force is not attractive,” he said and urged the jury not to consider this a social justice trial but a trial of one man.