Top homicide detective says Derek Chauvin kneeling on George Floyd was ‘totally unnecessary’

The Minneapolis Police Department’s top homicide detective testified that kneeling on George Floyd’s neck after he had been handcuffed was “totally unnecessary,” saying that “if your knee is on someone’s neck — that could kill them.”

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Lt. Richard Zimmerman, head of the homicide division for more than 12 years, testified Friday that Derek Chauvin’s actions violated policy by pressing his weight down on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes while the man was handcuffed and in a prone position. Police are not trained to kneel on a person’s neck, he said.
“Once the person is cuffed, the threat level goes down all the way,” the lieutenant told jurors at Chauvin’s murder trial.
“How can that person hurt you?” he asked, adding that “you getting injured is way down.” Keeping the person handcuffed and in a prone position “restricts their breathing,” he said.
Asked by prosecutor Matthew Frank if he was ever trained to kneel on a person, Zimmerman said no.
“Because if your knee is on someone’s neck — that could kill them,” the lieutenant said.
Chauvin at that point raised his head at the defense table and shot a look at Zimmerman.
The potentially devastating testimony by the department’s most senior officer came on the abbreviated fifth day of testimony in the closely-watched trial. Judge Peter Cahill sent jurors home early because the trial was ahead of schedule. Testimony resumes Monday.
Zimmerman said Chauvin’s actions were “uncalled for” and “totally unnecessary.”
“You need to get them off their chest,” the veteran investigator said at one point. “If you’re lying on your chest, that’s constricting your breathing even more.”
Zimmerman was a signatory to an open letter last year in which Minneapolis officers condemned Chauvin.
Under cross-examination, Zimmerman agreed that an unconscious person can become combative when revived, kicking and thrashing around.
Defense lawyer Eric Nelson sought to show that policing has changed significantly since Zimmerman got his training. He tried to draw attention to Zimmerman’s limited use of force experience as an investigator compared to a patrol officer.
While not trained to use a knee on the neck of a suspect, Zimmerman told Nelson that officers in a fight for their life are allowed to use whatever force is reasonable and necessary.
Sergeant describes arriving at scene of ‘possible critical incident’
Earlier, jurors heard testimony from the sergeant who secured the area shortly after Chauvin knelt on Floyd’s neck.
Sgt. Jon Edwards, a 14-year police veteran, said he arrived at the scene of a “possible critical incident” a little after 9:30 p.m. and had other officers canvass the area for potential witnesses.
At the scene, Edwards said, he asked two officers — J. Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane — to activate their body-worn cameras. Both officers were later charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter.
Zimmerman arrived at the Chicago Avenue scene shortly before 10 p.m. Kueng and Lane were taken to City Hall as part of a critical incident investigation, according to Edwards.
On Thursday, jurors heard Chauvin’s perspective in the minutes after Floyd’s limp body was taken away in an ambulance. It was the second time they heard his take on the events of that day. A clip from Chauvin’s body camera, viewed by jurors on Wednesday, showed Chauvin defending his actions to a bystander.
Then, a call to Sgt. David Pleoger, his supervisor at the time, was captured on body camera footage and played during Pleoger’s testimony on Thursday. Chauvin made the call shortly after kneeling on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes on May 25 to explain his version of what happened.”I was just going to call and have you come out to our scene here,” Chauvin told Pleoger. “We just had to hold a guy down. He was going crazy. He wouldn’t … he wouldn’t go in the back of the squad — “
The video ends but in the rest of the call, Chauvin said Floyd had a medical emergency after struggling with officers trying to put him into a car, according to Pleoger. Chauvin did not mention holding his knee down on Floyd’s neck and back, Pleoger said.
Pleoger drove to the scene and asked officers to speak to witnesses. “We can try, but they’re all pretty hostile,” Chauvin responded.
Later that night, at the Hennepin County Medical Center, Chauvin told his supervisor that he had knelt on Floyd’s neck, Pleoger told the jury.
The clip from Chauvin’s body camera played for the jury on Wednesday also showed him defending his actions to a bystander who called him out for his treatment of Floyd.
“That’s one person’s opinion,” Chauvin responded as he got into his squad car. “We had to control this guy because he’s a sizable guy. It looks like he’s probably on something.”His version of the encounter is contradicted by videos showing Chauvin kneeling on Floyd, who was handcuffed after he had passed out. Prosecutors said he knelt onChauvin has pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. The defendant, in a suit and tie, has sat at the defense table, taking notes on a large legal pad.
Earlier Thursday, Floyd’s girlfriend spoke about Floyd’s struggles with opioid addiction, and a pair of first responders testified that Floyd appeared dead when they arrived.