Cable News

[Darkoz]

Darkoz, I don’t think anybody’s trying to exonerate Chauvin. I’m just looking at it from the defense standpoint. What would I do if I was Chauvin’s lawyer? All I’m saying is Chauvin does have a case, more so than I think some people think.

Here’s his case: Chauvin is a police officer and was called to arrest someone for committing a crime. That person resisted arrest for 10 minutes. That person was high on drugs. Chauvin and two other police officers then restrained Floyd while they called an ambulance. I’m still unclear why the ambulance was called because it was called two minutes after they were sitting on him.

The police used a technique to restrain Floyd which is part of police protocol. During the time Floyd was restrained he died. Like I said, there’s no one who doesn’t think the restraint was overboard. But if you’re going to convict Cheuvan of some type of murder you have to show intent to kill. And that’s going to be harder to prove then people think.

Bystanders pointing out Floyd wasn’t moving and other things bystanders were saying can be dismissed by the defense as the cops hearing this kind of complaining on a daily basis, so over time the cops have become tone deaf to it. I mean I watch these reality cop shows sometimes and cops are always being yelled at and disrespected in these neighborhoods.

The first autopsy will be used by the defense to support other factors being involved in Floyd’s death, such as a heart condition and drugs. Obviously, the officers sitting on him was the main contributing cause. I don’t think anybody questions that. But the autopsy report does give the defense some ammunition.

Floyd’s criminal record will not be admissible in court, but what happened that day will be. Floyd wasn’t a model criminal that day. His actions led to the reason he was restrained.

I have no idea how the case will turn out, but Chauvin does have a defense. I expect he will be found guilty on some lesser charge of police brutality. I do not believe he will be convicted of third-degree murder, from what I read third-degree murder is. It’ll be interesting to see what happens. If it doesn’t turn out the way the liberals want, watch out.

And I do think if our criminal justice system had done its job this would’ve never happened. Floyd would’ve been sitting in jail behind bars rather than out in society committing another crime.

I agree and the defense has every right to argue their case to the fullest

I do disagree about proving 3rd degree murder which is one of his charges. They may not prove 2nd degree but 3rd I think the video says it all.

The 3rd degree statute in Minnesota is a bit different than I believe elsewhere

609.195 MURDER IN THE THIRD DEGREE.
(a) Whoever, without intent to effect the death of any person, causes the death of another by perpetrating an act eminently dangerous to others and evincing a depraved mind, without regard for human life, is guilty of murder in the third degree and may be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than 25 years.

Notice the very first line. Whoever WITHOUT INTENT to effect the death...

I.E. they don't have to prove Derek Chauvin had any intent to murder Floyd. All they have to prove is depraved indifference to human life.

Hmmm!

Good point! Yeah, third degree murder fits.

But the fact there were two other cops on Floyd will make it difficult to prove who killed him. I looked at the video again and the cop in the middle had both knees on Floyd, meaning all his weight was on Floyd.

At least Chauvin had one knee on the pavement, indicating his whole weight wasn’t on Floyd’s neck. And the first autopsy didn’t see signs of strangulation. Also, at one point Floyd cries out his stomach hurts, meaning the weight of the cop on his back was hurting him.

If they can’t prove which cop killed him, it’s difficult to convict either one. It actually works to Chauvin’s favor there was more than one cop on top of Floyd.

There’s a lot for a defense attorney to work with in these videos. Even Chauvin pulling out his mace can about half way through the video indicates Chauvin’s state of mind, and that he was in a defensive mindset.

No doubt about it, the video looks bad...and Chauvin could get convicted for 3rd degree murder. But if the jury finds him innocent of 3rd degree murder, I wouldn’t be surprised either.

I’ll be watching the trial. If it looks like Chauvin might be acquitted, people need to stock up on things because we could be headed to Armageddon.

From what I read a few days ago in an article (can't find it out but I don't have time at the moment to dig) is it's the combination of restraining the neck plus putting pressure on the back which compresses the lungs inward.

I don't know any place in the USA where you take part in a murder and say not guilty cause the other guy did it. Usually it winds up with everyone going to jail, not everyone getting off. But hey these are cops, right?

The one with his knees on back is heard saying on police bodycam that they should turn him around onto his stomach. Chauvin says to leave him in his current position which is against police policy. I believe that's another reason Chauvin is getting the brunt. His verbal order on the bodycam which goes against the department policy.

As to the officer saying they should turn him over that's a wash.

Defense: see that proves he knew it was wrong and tried to get Chauvin to do the right thing.

Prosecution: see that proves he knew it was wrong but acquiesced to Chauvin basically joining in.

See how easy it is to spin it either way.

There is one more piece of evidence that is pretty damning in my opinion. The 911 call.

Apparently it was made early into the 9 minutes when Floyd was just restrained. They noticed he was having some form of medical emergency.

If the officers felt there was a legit medical emergency then why the need for a neck restraint? He is flat on the floor with a medical emergency requiring EMT assistance and Chauvin decides 9 minutes of choking is smart? I think any claim they were concerned for their safety goes out the window