Thread by @samanthajhendr

I'll be covering closing arguments today in the #ChauvinTrial for @mndailynews. Follow for updates.

Judge Cahill is now instructing the jury. The jury will be sequestered after closing arguments until they come to a verdict.

The charges against Chauvin are: Second-degree unintentional murder, second-degree manslaughter and third-degree murder.

@MaryMoriarty is a must-follow for legal explainers.

It's strange to remember that the defense does not have to prove Chauvin is innocent, just that he could be by "reasonable doubt."

State is beginning their closing arguments.

The state is beginning by talking about Floyd and his family, specifically his bond with his mother. Floyd was a "familiar face" in the crowd to many people. "He was surrounded by people he cared about, and who cared about him, throughout his life."

"9 minutes and 29 seconds... during this time, George Floyd struggled, desperate to breathe.... to make enough room in his chest to breathe... but the force was too much... with the unyielding pavement... as unyielding as the men who held him down..."

"George Floyd tried... the pavement tearing into his bare skin... the defendant stayed on top of him... so desperate [Floyd] pushed with his face to lift himself... to give his lungs room to breathe."

"There was no superhuman strength... there are no superhumans. Superhumans aren't real, and 38th and Chicago is a very real place."

"George Floyd last words... were 'I can't breathe.'"

"The motto of the MPD is to protect with courage and serve with compassion. George Floyd was not a threat to anyone... facing George Floyd that day, that did not require one ounce of courage, and none was shown that day."

"All that was required was a little compassion... and none was shown that day.... This was a call about a counterfeit $20 bill."

George Floyd needed oxygen,& he asked for it. Chauvin denied him this. "Beyond the point that he had a pulse, the defendent continued this assault. When the ambulance arrived, the defendent continued. [Floyd] had no pulse... & the defendant had to know what was right beneath him.

"The truth was that the defendant was on top of himfor 9 minutes and 29 seconds, and he had to know. He had to know."

"What the defendant did to George Floyd killed him. It was ruled a homicide. The defendant is charged with murder. It may be hard for any of you to imagine a police officer doing something like this..."

"...Imagining a police officer committing a crime may be the most difficult thing you have to set aside... we believe the police are there to respond to our call for help."

State reminds the jury that many witnesses, including a nine-year-old wanted to call the police on Chauvin.

"Policing is a most noble profession... this case is called the State of MN vs. Derek Chauvin. This is not the State of MN vs. the police."

"You need to set aside the notion that it's impossible for a police officer to do something like this. He is not on trial for being a police officer... he is on trial for what he did."

State reminds the jury that mant have testified that Chauvin did not do what he was trained to do. "What the defendant did was not policing... what the defendant did was an assault... this was not policing, this was unnecessary... this was on purpose, this was not an accident."

"That force... killed George Floyd. And [Chauvin] betrayed the badge. This is not an anti-police prosecution, this is a pro-police prosecution."

"The defendant was not going to be told what to do. He was going to do what he wanted, how he wanted, for as long as he wanted... He chose pride over policing."

"George Floyd said he wasn't trying to win... but the defendant was trying to win. And George Floyd paid for it with his life." #ChauvinTrial

"This is not the trial of George Floyd." #ChauvinTrial

State shows a picture of George Floyd's terrified face from Chauvin's body cam footage, with Chauvin's gun aimed at him.

"To George Floyd... what do you think that looked like? Like a little cage... he explained [that he had anxiety] over and over." State is showing George Floyd pleading with officers and trying to work himself up to get in the car.

"People have emotions... police train for this. You don't get to meet police on your best day. You don't call police and say 'Everything's fine, just so you know.'"

"They are there on a $20 counterfeiting charge. Police train for this... this is nothing knew... the difference though... the officers just wouldn't listen to him."

"The defendant surveys the scene, saunters up to the car.... and slips on his gloves..."

"They get him out of the car... he's on his knees, he is not going anywhere. There are four officers there.... and what did GF say when the officers pulled him out of the car? 'Thank you.'"

"It could have been over there. But what did they do? They pushed him down onto the ground. They didn't need to. For what? He's handcuffed."

"This is where the 9 minutes and 29 seconds start, because they did not just lay him prone.... the defendant's weight on him... for 9 minutes and 29 seconds. That's when the countdown began."

"Would, but for the defendant's actions of pushing him down, have George Floyd died that day? ... Use your common sense. Believe your eyes. You saw what you saw."

"You are not required to accept nonsense."

"What you saw happened, happened. The defendant pressed down on GF so that his lungs did not have room to breathe. The experts who testified, you can believe them... They know a thing or two."

State is telling the jury the contributing factors do not relieve Chauvin of criminal liability.

"We know how George Floyd died... 9 minutes and 29 seconds. That's what killed George Floyd."

State is reminding the jury of Dr. Tobin's testimony. @MaryMoriarty called him one of the most effective witnesses she'd ever seen.

"He didn't die of a drug overdose. He didn't die of excited delirium... you heard him. You saw him. He was not impervious to the pain."

"There were multiple moments in time that things could have gone different, and George Floyd would have lived."

"The State does not have to show intent to kill... the only thing we have prove is that the defendant applied force on purpose... Somebody is telling you they can't breathe, and you keep doing it, you're doing it on purpose."

The State is now laying out the charges and how Chauvin fits them.

The state shows body camera footage. "Do you know what indifference sounds like?" State notes that Chauvin picked rocks out of the tire and commented on the smell of Floyd's feet while Floyd pleaded with him.

He knew better. He just chose not to do better. The State is pressing this theme. Chauvin had choices, knowledge and tools. He just ignored them.

The State is discrediting the witnesses of the defense. "Human beings feel pain. Human beings need to breathe.... you need to reject [their] testimony."

"He did not act a reasonable officer would."

"Officers are authorized to use force to respond to a threat, there are not authorized to use force to respond to a risk... The act of being large is not a crime, it's not a threat. It's merely a risk. Being 'on' something is not a threat, it may be a risk, but not a threat."

"You've heard a lot of hypotheticals... you need to focus on what actually happened."

"You can talk about what didn't happen all day long, into next week. But when you talk about what happened, the force should have ended right after Mr. Floyd was on the ground."

"Was George Floyd resisting when he was trying to breathe? No. And the defendant heard it and he acknowledged it and all he did was mock him."

The defendant's use of force was "not reasonable, not proportational, excessive, violated policy, and violated the law."

"He's guilty... of all them. Because you cannot justify this use of force, it's impossible."

"People from the community, randomly chosen by fate... all converged at one single moment to witness something, to witness 9 minutes & 29 secs of shocking abuse of authority, to watch a man die. & there was nothing they could do about it. Because even they respected the badge."

"It's what you felt in your gut. It's what you now know in your heart. This was not policing. This was murder. And there's no excuse."

The State has wrapped up closing arguments. 20 minute break. #ChauvinTrial