Thread by @deenafaywinter

George Floyd's passenger, Morries Hall, is appearing in court today via Zoom to try to quash a subpoena, saying he's invoking his 5th Amendment right against self-incrimination. His attorney says he has been offered no immunity, so that's why he's invoking the 5th.

His attorney says he would invoke the 5th re: any activities that took place before & after police arrived. There's an allegation that Floyd ingested controlled substances, and drugs have been found in the SUV they were in.

Hall’s attorney argues that requiring Hall to testify about that day puts him in proximity with George Floyd and exposes him to a third-degree murder charge.

Chauvin’s attorney wants to question Hall about what happened before they got to Cup Foods; whether either gave the other a fake bill; whether he gave/sold Floyd drugs; his past statement that Floyd was falling asleep in the SUV; giving false names to cops & fleeing Minnesota

The judge told Chauvin’s attorney to draft questions he wants to ask Hall by Thursday & they’ll go through them & zero in on the narrow area he probably can testify on without incriminating himself: In the SUV when Hall has said Floyd fell asleep suddenly before police arrived.

That gives Hall time to meet with his lawyer and decide which questions he will answer. This issue will be revisited at another hearing, Judge Cahill says.

Hall fled to Texas after Floyd's death & was apprehended by the Texas Rangers. He is now in the Hennepin County jail on other domestic charges. Floyd's girlfriend testified last week that Hall sold had drugs to Floyd. Hall was in Cup Foods w/ Floyd and in the SUV Floyd drove.

The jury will be brought in shortly and testimony will continue today, the seventh day of testimony. Here's what happened yesterday in the trial of Derek Chauvin: minnesotareformer.com/2021/04/05/as-…

While we're waiting, please read my story about how the neighborhood where George Floyd is divided over whether the autonomous zone that sprang up around the intersection should be reopened: minnesotareformer.com/2021/04/06/nei…

The pool (courtroom) reporter says before today's hearing began, Judge Cahill said hello to him from the bench and said "in at most a semi-joking way" he is well and will remain so so long as the media does not piss him off.

The pool/Reuters reporter also reports that Floyd family attorney Benjamin Crump and the Rev. Al Sharpton were seen with some members of the Floyd family waiting for an elevator. Gwen Carr, the mother of the late Eric Garner, was also there, just behind Sharpton.

Today's first witness is Sgt. Ker Yang of the
Minneapolis Police Department:

Yang is the crisis training coordinator — training officers in de-escalation of people in crisis — and has worked for MPD for 24 years.

The prosecutor says Derek Chauvin went through a 40-hour crisis intervention course in 2016 where professional actors help officers learn to identify people in crisis and de-escalate the situation.

Yang testifies about the critical decision-making model introduced to MPD in 2018, where officers gather information, assess threats, reassess whether their tactics are appropriate, etc. He confirms that if someone needs medical attention, "that would be the immediate goal."

During cross-examination, Chauvin's attorney is again talking about how it can "look bad" to bystanders when police have to use force, and it can "become a crisis" for them, and officers are trained on how to respond to that, too.

Chauvin’s attorney focuses on how officers are trained to have confidence, maintain space, speak slowly/softly, avoid staring or eye contact with the subject/bystanders, implying Chauvin was doing what he was trained to do to handle a crowd in crisis.

On redirect, prosecutor Steve Schleicher asks Yang about the officers’ responsibility to focus on their authority to render medical aid also; Nelson confirms that’s all premised on whether it’s safe and feasible to do so.

The next witness is Minneapolis Police Lt. Johnny Mercil:

He's been with MPD since 1996, but is currently on medical leave.

Mercil was a part-time use of force instructor in 2010 until he was promoted to Lt. in 2017 and was transferred to the training unit full time, assigned to use of force.

Officers are trained in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, an "art form" Mercil says he fell in love with. He says the martial art focuses on leverage, such as joint locks and neck restrains to get people to comply.

Mercil now testifying about use of force training (he is in charge of); how officers are trained to use a lower level of force, and how it should be proportional to the level of resistance from the subject.

Mercil testifies that 2 types of neck restraints were allowed by MPD policy if someone is actively resisting and other techniques haven’t worked, by using your arms to put pressure on the sides of the neck. But it was not allowed if the subject is passively resisting.

Shown a photo of Derek Chauvin with his knee on George Floyd’s neck, Mercil says that is not an approved MPD neck restraint. It could be an authorized restraint depending on the type of resistance you’re getting, but not on someone who is under control and handcuffed.

Mercil saying this was not an authorized use of force:

Under cross examination, re: the photo of Chauvin with his knee on Floyd’s neck, Mercil testifies that can be a method of using body weight to control someone while handcuffing them, but says officers are trained to stay away from the neck & instead put the knee on their shoulder

Mercil agrees that in a bodycam photo where Floyd’s pulse was being checked, it appears Chauvin’s shin was across Floyd’s shoulder blade (as officers are allowed to do).

Chauvin's attorney is showing Mercil various photos that seem to show Chauvin's knee between Floyd's shoulder blades and shin across his shoulder blade, with Mercil confirming those were authorized holds.

Mercil says during redirect officers don’t have unfettered discretion, that it must be proportional to the subject’s actions, and putting a knee across the back is meant to get control of a person while handcuffing, and shouldn’t be held there when they’re no longer resisting.

And we're breaking for lunch.