Thread by @SusanBrison

Watching closing arguments in the Chauvin trial and I'm stunned. So much of the prosecution's argument is devoted to proving that George Floyd is a PERSON, a HUMAN BEING. Because that NEEDS to be proven. 1/n #GeorgeFloyd

Prosecuting Attorney, Steve Schleicher, started off by saying George Perry Floyd, Jr.'s full name and showing photos of him, as a child with his mom, as an adult with others. "He was surrounded by people...he cared about and who cared about him." 2/n

Some may think this humanizing of Floyd is irrelevant to the charges. But it's not.
Schleicher ALSO had to prove that Floyd was not a SUPERhuman, with superhuman strength, a threat, unable to feel pain, not like other humans. "There are no superhumans, impervious to pain." 3/n

Schleicher noted that the motto of the Minneapolis Police Department is "To Protect with Courage and to Serve with Compassion" and added:
"No courage was required. All that was required was a little compassion . . . and oxygen."
"Humans need that. People need that." 4/n

When Floyd was still in the car, an officer pointed a gun at his face, inches away, and screamed at him "show me your f***ing hands!"
Floyd obeyed orders, was handcuffed. He complied.
Schleicher: "Not resistance. Compliance." 5/n

They wanted him to get into the back seat of the police car, which looked like a little cage. He explained that he had anxiety, was claustrophobic. He was in crisis. You can see him trying to work up the ability to get into the car. 6/n

Schleicher: "He couldn't bring himself to get in. Sometimes people can't bring themselves to get in." There's a difference between resistance and not being able to bring yourself to do what was requested.
Floyd repeated: "I'm claustrophobic." 7/n

Chauvin: "You aren't going to win."
Floyd: "I'm not trying to win."
They shoved him into the car. It wasn't necessary to shove him into the car. They pulled him out of the car.
Floyd said: "thank you." HE SAID "THANK YOU." 8/n

Schleicher: "The struggle was over. Floyd was handcuffed, on his knees. They pushed him onto the ground into the prone recovery position," a position that is sometimes used, but only temporarily, to get someone "under control." But he was already under control. 9/n

Schleicher: "This is where the excessive force begins." Where it BEGINS. fin

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