Derek Chauvin trial begins today

Know their names: Black people killed by the police in the US

 

something seriously needs to change and it makes sense that a lot of people are saying to abolish the police. they were started as an extension of plantation guards

 

The defense opened its case today, seeking to prove three points: 1. Chauvin's actions were reasonable under the cirumstances; 2. concern about the angry crowd played a critical part in the police conduct; and 3. was Floyd's death caused by drugs and health problems instead of Chauvin's actions. I think the first two issues have been effectively undermined by the prosecution. The defense's star witness who argued that the force was reasonable was effectively demolished by the prosecution, which showed that any initial basis for it disappeared after the first few minutes under Chauvin's knee. New video evidence including Officer Chang that the crowd was increasingly angry and aggressive. But there was no visual evidence to corroborate this, we met many members of the crowd early in the trial and they seemed non-threatening, and there was no call for backup, which would have been usual if the crowd were that dangerous. The medical causation issue seems to be the most promising for the defense. Video of a past arrest shows him swallowing drugs to dispose of the evidence. Of course, he survived without lasting health issues. But the defense is arguing this time he had finished detox and if the took the same dose he previously had, the effects might have been more severe, And what he took was a combination of uppers (meth) and downers (fentanyl). The prosecution witnesses are convinced that the proximate cause of the death was Chauvin's knee. Could a reasonable juror believe it was the drugs, despite expert testimony to the contrary? I think so, and one is all it takes.for a hung jury!

 

Yes, that's what we need to do. Abolish the police. And when the bad guys show up at the door, we can blow them away with our AR-15s. Seriously?

 

i dont have time to explain to you but google something like "what does defunding the police really mean" there is an entire culture of planning how we would create organisations of people who actually do their jobs and service communities instead of shoot peoples dogs and strangle random innocent bystanders because they hate themselves and their family is brain dead assholes. anyways if you caught a serial killer or something thats cool great job, your job is still a part of institutionalized fascism even if some parts of it are good for society. im not a libertarian its not about having ar 15s its about advanced plans for developing a better society and recognizing that police are often times terrorists

 

So "They" have decided what? To convict Chauvin? In my opinion, those six "facts" have been effectiveley rebutted by prosecution witnesses.

1. Most people experience cardiopulmonary and psychological distress when the police show up and wave a gun in their face. They usually don't die. There seems to be substantial agreement by the medical experts so far that the proximate cause of death was Chauvin's knee on neck.
   
   
2. The Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) allows the use of neck restraint on suspects who actively resist arrest, but only if active resistance is still going on or there are signs that it will resume. Floyd was on the ground in the prone position with four officers holding him down, including Chauvin's knee on neck, with foot off the ground so that his full body weight was on Floyd. And he kept it up for 9 !/2 minutes, including after Floyd had no pulse. The MPD doesn't allow that. It allows the force to be used as long as it appears to be reasonably necessary, and requires continual re-evaluation to determine that it is still necessary.
3. Excited delerium, a controversial diagnosis that is increasingly used as an excuse for police violence, wich neither either the American Medical Association nor the American Psychiatric Association.accept. There is no common definition of what it is. Since it seems to be used disproportionately against African-American men, it may, from a practical standpoint, be the equivalent of walking while black.
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4. Restraining the suspect on his or her abdomen (prone restraint) is not common tactic in ExDS situations with four officers on the suspect's body and a knee on the neck for 9 1/2 minutes.
   
   
5. It seemed to be the conclusion of the doctor who performed the autopsy that while the drugs may have played a part in Floyd's death, the proximate cause was the police.
   
   
6. A robust study on double-knee restraints may have shown a median force exertion of approximately approximately 105lbs, but Chauvin weighs 140 pounds and his gear weighs more than that, and his foot was off the ground at least part of the time, so that his full weight was bearing down on Floyd.

These "Six facts" sound like they were prepared by Chauvin's counsel. He might get a juror to believe them. One born every minute!

 

Fantasy island! I can google lots of other fantasies on the internet.Rashida Talib's proposal to end policing doesn't seem to have many takers even among Democrats. More realistic is the Democrat's Justice in Policing Act which bans a number of the practices involved in recent killings by police officers. Will it ever pass? I doubt it.

Recent events in Minneapolis and the Nazarro incident in Virginia indicate though that there's something radically wrong with the training and/or recruitment of our police officers, at least in some parts of the country. That a senior officer like Terry Gannon could stop Duante Wright for an expired license and/or a car deodorizer dangling from the rear view mirror, order him out of the car, find that he had an outstanding warrant for a non-violent crime, then try to taze him when he tried to flee, and mistake her gun for her taser boggles the mind. WTF? I can't see why and officer would want to do that deliberately unless she was a total racist or sociopath, which she doesn't seem to be. But I can't see how something like that can happen accidentally either. I'm quite a klutz myself, but I've never done anything remotely approximating that! But the defund the police movement is pie in the sky in a country where Retrumplicans still hold blocking power in the national government and run so many statehouses in the country. More realistic would be to pass Biden's

 

All I can say is this:
That wasn't me who commented.
My husband posts comments with my phone on my sites from time to time. I don't like it.
I am in the hospital right now, but when I get home, he will hear about this from me.
In the meantime, I have no comment as I am, to be honest, not familiar with the case being discussed.
You can tell it's not me when the comment contains phrases like
"reap havoc".
I would have correctly said, "wreak havoc".

 

wow that sounds like he is in trouble! why would someone ever want to hijack someones account and post is beyond me

 

He got banned.
I want to keep him from getting ME banned. But Zen knows me.

 

Angel darlin' - when they let you out of hospital, I can see a certain man walking around with a very sore ear !!!

 

And a sad and lonely --well, you know.

 

Hope you're on the mend, and feeling better.

 

I go home Friday morning, Brother.

 

So very glad to hear it

 

Just in time for a weekend booze up Angel darlin'

 

Update: leaving TODAY!
I don't drink, though, except for 2 eggnogs on New Year's Eve, with rum.

 

Glad you're feeling better Angelmama and I hope you feel strong enough to read hubby the riot act.

Back to the trial, Chauvin has invoked his 5th amendment rights and stated he will not testify. Considering the way the prosecution has torn up his defense witnesses, that's probably a good idea. The closing statements are expected sometime next week.

And in the other Minnesota shooting, Kimberly Potter was arrested and charged with second-degree manslaughter in the death of Daunte Wright. Her defense is that it was an accident, she thought she was firing her taser. If so I have to wonder, with a brain fart so massive, how did she manage to keep her job as a cop for 26 years?

 

Now the defense has rested its case, apparently they didn't have much. Closing statements are expected on Monday.