The 19-year-old cashier who suspected George Floyd had handed him a counterfeit bill said Wednesday he still feels guilt for Floyd’s death under the knee of a former Minneapolis police officer.
Christopher Martin took the stand on the third day of the criminal trial of Derek Chauvin, echoing other witnesses who expressed helplessness and regret about what they did and didn’t do leading up to Floyd’s killing in May 2020. Martin is barely older than others who described for the jury their pain and shame as survivors. He testified that he felt «disbelief and guilt» that his brief interaction led to Floyd’s death and the turmoil that followed it. «If I would have just not taken the bill, this could have been avoided,» said Martin, who was a cashier at Cup Foods, where the initial call to police was made that day. Martin soon stopped working at the store. He said he didn’t feel safe. Another witness called by the prosecution, Charles McMillian,61, cried and heaved on the witness stand after watching police body camera footage of Floyd’s arrest. In the video, Floyd gasped that he was claustrophobic.
