Jury to decide if George Floyd was using drugs or not: Derek Chauvin’s trial

On Monday the judge overseeing the trial of a former Minneapolis police officer regarding the death of George Floyd said that he will let the jury decide if Floyd did drugs or not. He is asking the jury to clarify whether Floyd yelled “I ain’t do no drugs” or “I ate too many drugs” as three officers jammed him down.

Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill ruled as attorneys argued whether the testimony of Seth Stoughton, a professor at the University of South Carolina Law School, should be allowed as he is acting as a use-of-force expert for the prosecution.

Prosecutor Steve Schleicher said that Steve would testify in front of the jury that he wasn’t able to recognize what Floyd said in the audio recorded, even after playing it multiple times. He also wanted to play the jury a slowed-down version with the subtitles to back up the professor’s testimony.

Chauvin attorney Eric Nelson objected to playing the slowed version as the prosecutor got this plan just last Friday, hence not giving him enough time to prepare a response.

Part of Nelson’s tactic to defend Chauvin against the murder and manslaughter of George Floyd has to plant a seed of reasonable doubt and deflect responsibility from him and dump it onto Floyd himself for using drugs. An autopsy has found fentanyl and methamphetamine in Floyd’s system but the prosecution expert again on Monday testified that the drugs didn’t kill him.

During the testimony of Jody Stiger, a LA police dept. sergeant serving prosecution use-of-force expert, Nelson first played the short clip with a disputed quote where Floyd is seen on the ground moaning and yelling in distress, a video which came from body-cam of another police officer. “Does it sound like he says, ‘I ate too many drugs?” Nelson asked the court.

“I can’t make that out,” Stiger replied to which Nelson turned the same question to lead investigator from Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, Senior Special Agent James Reyerson.

When the agent agreed with Nelson to what appeared Floyd was saying, Matthew Frank, wasn’t going to sit back. He got Reyerson to admit that he hadn’t listened to that audio closely before.

After a break to regroup, Frank played a longer version of the same clip and questioned the agent if now he can make out what Floyd said, having heard in context. “I believed that Mr. George Floyd said “I ain’t do no drugs,” Reyerson replied.

Cahill said that he was surprised to see no objection from the prosecutors when the clip was brought up last week. And as of the dispute over Floyd’s quote he agreed with Nelson that the jury must decide, if they think it’s important.

A pivotal moment in the Derek Chauvin trial. Dr. Tobin says that George Floyd’s pre-existing health conditions had nothing whatsoever to do with his death. pic.twitter.com/LHRMDQYR14

— Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) April 8, 2021