By Dominic Taylor-
On Tuesday, Jody Stiger, a use of force expert from the Los Angeles Police, joined several other senior officers from Department of Minneapolis testified against the force used against Mr.Floyd: “My opinion was that the force was excessive.”
“However, once he was placed in the prone position on the ground, he slowly ceased his resistance and at that point the ex-officers, they should have slowed down or stopped their force as well,” he added.
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The jury is set to reconvene at 9:15am CT (3:15 UK) on Wednesday, as Mr Stiger returns to the witness stand for further questioning.
Minneapolis use-of-force expert Lt Johnny Mercil said Mr Chauvin should also have later moved the prone Mr Floyd to a different position.
Mr Chauvin, 45, horrified the world after he was filmed kneeling on Mr Floyd for over nine minutes during Mr Floyd’s arrest last May.
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Mr Chauvin is on trial for murder and has denied the charges against him.
The footage of Mr Chauvin, who is white, with his knee on African-American Mr Floyd’s neck sparked global protests against racism.
Jurors have now heard from more than 20 witnesses, including four police training experts on Tuesday. The trial is expected to last for at least one month.
As police officers are rarely convicted or charged at all for deaths that occur in custody, the verdict in this trial is being seen as an indication of how the US legal system will treat such cases in future.
Mr Chauvin’s defence attorneys argued that Mr Floyd’s efforts to resist arrest necessitated the restraint, and that the “hostile” crowd surrounding Mr Chauvin required “unique situational awareness”.
Several witnessed testified that they urged officers to check Mr Floyd’s pulse and provide him with medical care.
Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) training coordinator Mr Mercil told the court that officers are taught to use force in proportion to a suspect’s level of resistance and it was “very important to be careful with the person”.
“We tell officers to stay away from the neck when possible,” he said, adding that officers are told to place body weight on a suspect’s shoulders when reasonable.
Mr Mercil testified that based on the training that officers receive, Mr Chauvin should only have used that manner of neck restraint if there was “active aggression” involved.
He said that Mr Floyd had no ability to resist or show aggression once he was face down on the ground.
Mr Mercil told the court that Mr Chauvin should have recognised that it was “time to de-escalate the [level of] force” once Mr Floyd fell unconscious, and that Mr Floyd should have been moved into a different position to avoid asphyxiation.
Sgt Ker Yang- a crisis intervention training coordinator- confirmed that Mr Chauvin had completed the department’s 40-hour practical training course and his “ultimate goal” should have been to assess Mr Floyd’s medical condition during his arrest.
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