State of Minnesota v. Derek Michael Chauvin was an American criminal case in the District Court of Minnesota in 2021. Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was tried and convicted for the murder of George Floyd, which occurred during an arrest on May 25, 2020, and led to global protests over racial injustice and police brutality. A 12-member jury found Chauvin guilty of unintentional second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter. It was the first conviction of a white police officer in Minnesota for the murder of a black person.
The trial was held at the Hennepin County Government Center in Minneapolis, and it ran from March 8 to April 20, 2021. It was the first criminal trial in Minnesota to be entirely televised and the first to be broadcast live. The trial received extensive media coverage, with over 23 million people watching the verdict being announced on live television. Several protest marches and demonstrations were held up to and during the trial. Large crowds celebrated the guilty verdict announcement.
Chauvin was sentenced by the trial judge to years in prison for second-degree murder, 10 years more than the presumptive sentence under the sentencing guideline of years, due to Chauvin's abuse of power and his particular cruelty inflicted on Floyd. The first charge could have carried a maximum penalty of forty years in prison. Chauvin appealed his conviction, but the guilty verdict was upheld by the Minnesota Supreme Court. The United States Supreme Court declined to review the case.
Background Murder of George Floyd
Derek Chauvin was one of four officers of the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) involved in the arrest of George Floyd on May 25, 2020, on suspicion of using a counterfeit $20 bill at a market. He also served as the field training officer for one of the other officers involved. While Floyd was handcuffed and lying facedown on the street, Chauvin knelt on Floyd's neck for nine minutes and 29 seconds. For part of the time, two other officers knelt on Floyd's back. During the final two minutes, Floyd was motionless and had no pulse.
A reading of the initial police report shows no mention of Floyd's treatment when he was arrested. The misleading report reads, a "medical incident during police interaction." Many believe Chauvin would never have been convicted if the mobile phone video taken by Darnella Frazier had not surfaced. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz publicly thanked Frazier saying, "Taking that video, I think many folks know, is maybe the only reason that Derek Chauvin will go to prison".
Two autopsies found Floyd's death to be a homicide. At the time of his murder, Floyd also had recovered from COVID-19 and suffered from heart disease, and had fentanyl and methamphetamine in his system.
Arrest, charges, and bail
Chauvin was arrested on May 29, 2020, and initially charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter, making him the first white police officer in Minnesota to be charged with murdering a black civilian. On June 3, charges were amended to include second-degree murder, specifically unintentional second-degree murder while attempting to commit felony assault. Chauvin was released on conditional bail on October 7, 2020 after posting a bond of $1 million. Court documentation provided that his release was supervised and would be forfeited if he declined to appear before a magistrate, refused to appear in court on scheduled dates, left the state of Minnesota without court approval, or had contact with Floyd's family.
Pre-trial proceedings On August 29, 2020, Chauvin's attorneys filed a motion to dismiss the case, claiming that Floyd most likely died as a result of drug use and preexisting medical conditions. On the same day, prosecutors moved to increase potential sentences for the four officers beyond the guidelines for all four accused, arguing that Floyd was vulnerable while being held down on the ground in handcuffs and was treated cruelly.
On November 12, 2020, Judge Cahill initially ruled that Chauvin and the other three officers would be tried together. On January 11, 2021, Cahill ruled that Chauvin would be tried separately from the other officers.
On October 22, 2020, Cahill dismissed the third-degree murder charge, but not the second-degree unintentional murder and second-degree manslaughter charges. On March 11, 2021, on appeal, Cahill reinstated the third-degree murder charge against Chauvin. The decision came after the Minnesota Supreme Court on March 10, denied the defense's petition for review of a Court of Appeals decision requiring Cahill to reconsider reinstating the charge.
On March 19, 2021, after considering that drugs discovered in the SUV where Floyd was detained were confirmed to contain his DNA, Cahill allowed the defense to present limited evidence from Floyd's May 2019 arrest (when he resisted officers and swallowed drugs, leading to dangerously high blood pressure), disallowed a forensic psychiatrist the prosecution wanted to testify that Floyd was acting like a normal scared person during the arrests, and dismissed a motion to postpone the trial in light of the civil settlement's publicity.
Trial
Judge and attorneys
Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill presided over the case. Cahill has been a judge since 2007 and previously worked as both a public defender and prosecutor.
On May 31, 2020, Governor Tim Walz announced that Attorney General Keith Ellison would lead the prosecution instead of County Attorney Michael O. Freeman. Freeman was the subject of protests and was later disqualified from working on the case. Ellison was usually present in the courtroom but did not take part in making legal arguments.
The prosecution team included Minnesota Assistant Attorney General Matthew Frank, serving as the lead prosecutor, Jerry W. Blackwell, Steven Schleicher, and Erin Eldridge. Ellison brought in a team of attorneys from Hogan Lovells after Georgetown Law School Professor Neal Katyal, a former acting Solicitor General of the United States, offered to assist in crafting strategy and motions. Katyal said that Ellison invited the mother of Eric Garner to the prosecution's daily meeting and that her presence highlighted how the Chauvin case was also an effort "to achieve a measure of justice for all the Black families who have lost loved ones to police violence but never saw a courtroom." Blackwell, a civil rights and corporate torts attorney, joined the prosecution team pro bono. He is known for his ability to present complex legal issues in plain English to jurors. Chauvin was represented by defense attorney Eric Nelson, compensated by the Minneapolis Police and Peace Officers Association, which provides services to its members. Nelson is one of a dozen lawyers assigned in rotation for current and former members requiring job-related legal services.
Jury
On December 22, 2020, prospective jurors in Hennepin County were mailed a questionnaire asking about their views on the criminal justice system, the police, and social movements. The questionnaire also asked prospective jurors to disclose how many times they viewed videos of Floyd's murder and whether they participated in the George Floyd protests.
The trial was held at the Hennepin County Government Center in Minneapolis. On March 8, 2021, jury selection was delayed until at least March 9, pending consideration of the third-degree murder charge against Chauvin. Jury selection began on that day, with the third-degree murder issue still unresolved by the Court of Appeals. During jury selection, prospective jurors were questioned about their views on Black Lives Matter, Blue Lives Matter, and defunding the police. Jurors were also questioned about Minneapolis' $27 million settlement with Floyd's family, with two seated jurors excused after news of the settlement changed their ability to be impartial. Some potential jurors expressed fear of retribution if they were to return an unpopular verdict. Twelve anonymous jurors and three alternates were seated as of March 23, with six white, four black, and two multi-racial jurors selected. On the third day of trial, a juror had a "stress-related reaction" but declined medical attention.
Opening statements
Opening statements from the prosecution and the defense were heard on March 29, 2021. Prosecutor Jerry Blackwell started opening statements saying that "Mr. Chauvin betrayed his badge" while defense attorney Eric Nelson said that "Chauvin did exactly what he had been trained to do". Nelson's opening statement drew attention to the eyewitnesses who watched Floyd's death, who he characterized as an unruly and threatening crowd.
Prosecution case The prosecution began its case on March 29, 2021, and rested on April 13 after 11 days of testimony from 38 witnesses.
Prosecution witnesses About 400 people were included on a list of prospective trial witnesses, but only 38 were called on to testify. The prosecution's witnesses were:
Jena Scurry, a 911 dispatcher who received the call about Floyd using a counterfeit bill; she viewed Floyd's arrest via live video, and was concerned about the manner of his arrest, leading her to call a police sergeant about the arrest. Alisha Oyler, a bystander who filmed Floyd's murder. Donald Williams II, a bystander and professional MMA fighter, who testified that Chauvin's kneeling on Floyd's neck was applying a "blood choke", that Chauvin was "shimmying to actually get the final choke in" on Floyd, that the arrest procedure was "torture", and that he called 911 on Chauvin because he believed he had "witnessed a murder". Darnella Frazier and three other underage witnesses who witnessed Floyd's murder testified off-camera. Frazier is the witness who recorded the widely circulated video that challenged the initial police report. She testified that Floyd was "terrified, scared, begging for his life", and saying "I can't breathe", while Chauvin "just stared at us" with "this cold look". Genevieve Hansen, a bystander and EMT-certified firefighter of the Minneapolis Fire Department (MFD), who witnessed Floyd's condition and wanted to treat him but was not allowed. Hansen said she saw that Floyd "had an altered state of consciousness", because he was not responding to the "painful stimuli" of Chauvin's knee on his neck. She wanted to check Floyd for consciousness, start chest compressions, as well as render other medical attention, but was denied access to Floyd by the police. Christopher Martin, an employee at Cup Foods who allegedly received the counterfeit bill from Floyd. Martin said "it would appear that [Floyd] was high" but that he was able to talk and communicate. Christopher Belfrey, a bystander parked behind Floyd's SUV who began recording a video after seeing officer Lane point a gun at Floyd. Charles McMillian, a bystander who had a conversation with Floyd when Floyd was in the police car. Lt. Jeff Rugel, head of the MPD's business technology unit, who was familiar with police body camera footage. Courteney Ross, Floyd's girlfriend, who testified that Floyd struggled with an opioid addiction after using opioids to treat back pain, that he had once been hospitalized for an overdose, and that he was in the car with a supplier at the time of his arrest. She cried while describing her relationship with Floyd. Seth Bravinder and Derek Smith, Hennepin paramedics who responded to the scene of Floyd's murder and testified that they saw no signs of breathing or movement by Floyd when they arrived, that they detected no heartbeat once they were allowed access to Floyd, and that they failed to resuscitate Floyd. Smith said that when they arrived, he believed Floyd was already dead. Capt. Jeremy Norton of the MFD, who responded to the scene and reported what happened to his supervisors. Norton said he "was worried that a man had been killed in police custody".