Photo: YouTube
The death that sparked a worldwide movement took center stage in a heavily fortified Minneapolis courtroom on Tuesday as jury selection began in Derek Chauvin’s trial in the death of George Floyd.
Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, died on May 25, 2020, after Chauvin, then a Minneapolis Police officer, placed his knee on Floyd’s neck for nearly eight minutes while Floyd pleaded, “I can’t breathe.” His final moments were captured on video, and his death led to widespread protests against police brutality and racism under the banner Black Lives Matter as well as incidents of unrest and looting.
Chauvin has pleaded not guilty to second-degree unintentional murder and second-degree manslaughter charges. In addition, a charge of third-degree murder that was dismissed in October is now in limbo after an appeals court ruled the trial judge should reconsider a motion to reinstate it, which could lead to a delay in the start of the trial.
Jury selection in the trial began Tuesday at the Hennepin County Government Center and is expected to last about three weeks.
Read rest of story here.
