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Officers “could have ended restraint” when Floyd stopped resisting, Minneapolis police sergeant said on Thursday

A Minneapolis police sergeant who was on duty the night George Floyd died testified that he believed the officers who were involved in the restraint could have ended it after he stopped resisting.

David Pleoger said on Thursday at the trial of former officer Derek Chauvin, who is charged with murder and manslaughter in Mr Floyd’s death, that officers are trained to roll people on their side to help with their breathing after they have been restrained in the prone position.

“When Mr Floyd was no longer offering up any resistance to the officers, they could have ended the restraint,” Mr Pleoger said.

Thursday’s testimony began with Mr Floyd’s girlfriend tearfully telling the jury how they met in 2017 – at a Salvation Army shelter where he was a security guard – and how they both struggled with an addiction to painkillers.

Watch live as the trial continues for a fifth day.