By Aaron Miller-
A Minneapolis firefighter who expressed frustration at being prevented from using her emergency training to help George Floyd will be back on the stand on Wednesday in the trial of the fired police officer charged in Mr Floyd’s death.
Genevieve Hansen, one of several bystanders who shouted frustratingly at evil former cop, Derek Chauvin, as he pinned Mr Floyd face down outside a convenience store last May, cried on Tuesday as she told of her pain of being unable to come to Mr Floyd’s aid or tell police what to do, such as administering chest compressions.
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“There was a man being killed,” said Ms Hansen, who testified in dress uniform and detailed her emergency medical technician (EMT) training.
“I would have been able to provide medical attention to the best of my abilities. And this human was denied that right.”
Ms Hansen was among several witnesses who testified on Tuesday about what they witnessed of Mr Floyd’s May 25 death. They described their increasing frustration, anger and despair as they begged Chauvin to take his knee off Mr Floyd’s neck.
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Each of the witnesses has described how Chauvin ignored their pleas, including the teenager who circulated the video of the arrest that set America on a period of long and fairly sustained protest. She said the officer gave the crowd a “cold” and “heartless” stare.
“He didn’t care. It seemed as if he didn’t care what we were saying,” said 18-year-old Darnella Frazier, one of several witnesses who testified through tears.
Chauvin heartlessly knelt on Mr Floyd while fellow Officer Tou Thao held the crowd of about 15 back, even when Ms Hansen identified herself as a firefighter and pleaded repeatedly to check Mr Floyd’s pulse, according to witnesses and bystander video.
The 45 year old disgraced former cop is charged with murder and manslaughter, and accused of killing Mr Floyd by pinning the 46-year-old handcuffed black man to the pavement for what prosecutors said was 9 minutes, 29 seconds. Mr Floyd was arrested after being accused of trying to pass a counterfeit 20-dollar note at the convenience store.
Derek Chauvin faces charges of murder and manslaughter Image: news.sky.com
The sad video of Mr. Floyd pleading that he couldn’t breathe, led to violent protests around the world and a reckoning over racism and police brutality across the US.
The defence argues Chauvin’s actions were in accordance with his training , and that Mr Floyd’s death was not caused by the officer but by a combination of illegal drug use, heart disease, high blood pressure and the adrenaline flowing through his body.
Witnesses expressed a feeling of guilt and helplessness, as Floyd gasped for air, pleaded for his life, and finally fell limp and silent, his eyes rolling back in his head.
But Chauvin attorney Eric Nelson is seeking to convince jurors that his client is not guilty of murder.
Ms Hansen testified that the crowd was growing more upset and that the paramedics did a “load and go” — placing Mr Floyd on a stretcher and quickly getting him away from the crowd so he could be treated elsewhere.
The trial highlights just one major case among a long list of unarmed Afro Americans who have been brutally killed by police in America over several years .
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