US killer cop violated policy in George Floyd arrest: Minneapolis police chief

A white former US police officer, accused of killing African-American George Floyd during an arrest last year, violated Minneapolis Police Department rules and its ethics code, the city’s police chief testified at the murder trial on Monday.

On the sixth day of Derek Chauvin’s murder trial, Police Chief Medaria Arradondo said the former white officer “absolutely” violated MPD policy when he kneeled on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes during a botched arrest last May.

Arradondo said the neck restraint Chauvin used was not part of his training, noting that, “It’s not part of our training, and it is certainly not part of our ethics and our values.”

“I vehemently disagree that that’s appropriate use of force for that situation on May 25,” he added.

The police chief disputed the defense’s claim that Chauvin, who has pleaded not guilty to murder and manslaughter charges, was following the training he had received in his 19 years on the force.

The officer did not relent in using deadly force even as Floyd was no longer responsive and motionless, and he did not provide the mandated first aid to a dying Floyd, Arradondo said.

US law experts say it is highly unusual for a city’s senior police official to testify that one of his former subordinates used excessive force.

Chauvin, who along with three other officers, was fired by Arradondo a day after the deadly arrest.

Katie Blackwell, who previously ran the department’s training program, also testified on Monday.

Regarding the neck restraint used on Floyd, she said, “I don’t know what kind of improvised position that is. That’s not what we train.”

The emergency physician who treated Floyd on the day of his arrest, Dr. Bradford Langenfeld, also disputed Chauvin’s attorneys who said Floyd’s death was caused by a combination of preexisting health conditions and fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid.

Langenfeld said oxygen deficiency, or asphyxia, was “one of the more likely possibilities,” stressing that he observed no clear signs of a drug overdose.

The white police officer faces charges of second- and third-degree murder, as well as second-degree manslaughter.

Floyd’s death under Chauvin's knee that was recorded by a bystander sparked protests in the US and around the world against racism and police brutality.

The brutal murder triggered an intense debate about systemic racism, police accountability and the criminal justice system in the United States.

Many similar cases in the United States have not led to charges for the police officers involved, including in the deaths of Michael Brown, Eric Garner and Tamir Rice.

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