Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo testified on Monday that Chauvin kneeling on Floyd may have been reasonable at first but went on for far too long.
Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo testified on Monday that former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin ‘s continued kneeling on George Floyd ‘s neck was not «objectively reasonable» and ran contrary to department policies. Arradondo took the stand on Monday in Chauvin’s trial for the death of Floyd, a 46-year-old man who was declared dead at the hospital after being in police custody. Arradondo rejected an argument from Chauvin’s attorney that the former officer was following his training and told a jury that while Chauvin’s use of force may have been acceptable at first, it went on for far too long. When Arradondo viewed a video of the arrest from a city security camera, known as a «milestone» video, he said nothing jumped out of him that was out of the ordinary. However, he acknowledged it was from far away and when he saw the bystander video that went viral, he got a more accurate depiction of what happened. «Once Mr. Floyd stopped resisting and certainly once he was in distress and trying to verbalize that [Chauvin] should have stopped,» Arradondo said. «When I look at the facial expression of Mr. Floyd, that does not appear in any way shape or form that is light to moderate pressure… I absolutely agree that it violates our policy.» The police chief told the jury on Monday that there was an «initial reasonableness» to use the restraint to get Floyd under control. But, once he was face down and handcuffed behind his back, he said Chauvin’s continued use of force was in «no way shape or form» part of the police department’s policy or training.
