Thread by @deenafaywinter

Testimony resumes this afternoon in Derek Chauvin's trial with Minneapolis police officer Nicole Mackenzie, medical support coordinator for MPD:

Mackenzie testifies that officers shouldn’t just wait for paramedics to arrive, saying they should provide first aid — “if it’s a critical situation, you have to do both."

Mackenzie said if a person doesn’t have a pulse, officers should immediately start CPR. Says it's not true that “if you can talk, you can breathe,” saying “Just because they’re speaking doesn’t mean they’re breathing adequately.” (Re: comments officer made to Floyd and the crowd)

Mackenzie confirms it’s MPD policy to render medical aid to someone after using force on them as soon as reasonably practical, saying you have to make sure your scene is safe before you’re able to render aid.

On cross-examination, that is. Chauvin's attorney, Nelson, asks if it’s possible an officer could misinterpret agonal breathing (ineffective, gasps for air by unresponsive people) for breathing. Mackenzie says yes.

Nelson is now questioning Mackenzie on the rise in opioid use; confirming even trace amounts of fentanyl can be deadly. She confirms this photo illustrates how some people can fall asleep or be "out of it" during an opioid overdose:

Mackenzie confirms she's heard of speedballs and that it’s become commonplace to see people combine a stimulant (like methamphetamine) and a depressant (like fentanyl).

Mackenzie now explaining how officers are trained on excited delirium, a potentially deadly medical condition that can cause a fight-or-flight response and super-human strength. It has not been recognized by the American Medical Association or the American Psychiatric Association

She confirms sometimes it's best to "load and go" with a patient if there's a crowd, because it can be such a distraction. She says it can be incredibly difficult to render aid in the face of a hostile, volatile crowd.

The prosecution objects to the timing of the defense questioning Mackenzie about excited delirium; she’s excused and the defense will likely call her back to testify on Tuesday morning, Judge Cahill says.

The next witness is Sgt. Jody Stiger of the Los Angeles Police Department:

Stiger was a tactics instructor for six years and has trained about 3,000 officers on de-escalation, patrol tactics and arrest control techniques.

Not sure why prosecutor asked this, but Stiger says he’s being paid a flat fee of $10,000, $2,950 for trial to review this case.

Stiger says in his opinion, Derek Chauvin's force was excessive.

Stiger says typically for a counterfeit $20 bill, "typically you wouldn’t even expect to use any type of force."

Stiger says initially when officers were trying to get Floyd in the squad car, he was actively resisting so they were justified in using force, but once he was face down on the ground, he slowly stopped resisting and “they should have slowed down or stopped their force as well.”

Stiger testifies the only aggressive action by Floyd he saw prior to being put on ground was him kicking a leg as they were putting him on the ground.

Stiger says the officers did not have to use force to try to get Floyd in the squad car; Officer Kueng had earlier talked to Floyd and he says it would’ve been best to continue to try to talk to Floyd.

In the middle of the LAPD officer's testimony, Judge Cahill says they're breaking for the day and will resume with his testimony tomorrow morning.

Notes from the 2 courtroom reporters: Floyd’s brother Rodney was in the courtroom today. “It’s nail-biting,” he said during a recess. “It’s like watching a movie.”

Rodney Floyd said the last time he was inside the courtroom was on the day when the state played uninterrupted body-worn camera footage from different officers, showing his brother's death over and over again. “That was very, very hard,” he said.

He said his brother’s dying words from the videos were displacing his memory of their last conversation; they reminisced about their late mother. “When someone dies you cherish their last words but my brother’s last words, oh, those words are stuck in my head. Agonizing.”

“The only thing that makes sense to me is him calling for mother," Rodney Floyd said. "The last conversation we had, he said Mom was heavy on his mind. He’s a momma’s baby. ... Hearing his voice in my head like that (from the body cam videos) was very painful”