George Floyd news: 911 dispatcher ‘took it upon herself’ to call sergeant because arrest was ‘wrong’

Lawyer explains why Thomas Lane not charged with second count in George Floyd trial

Jurors have reviewed extensive video footage during a second day of testimony in the federal trial of three former Minneapolis police officers charged with violating George Floyd’s civil rights.

The former officers — Tou Thao, J Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane — face one count each of failing to provide Mr Floyd with medical aid while Derek Chauvin placed his knee on his neck for more than nine minutes while he was facedown, handcuffed and gasping for air.

Mr Lane – as well as members of the Floyd family – are expected to testify over the course of the trial. On Tuesday, Judge Paul Magnuson barred Mr Floyd’s girlfriend Courteney Ross, who was listed as a witness, from testifying at trial after she gave a press conference on Monday.

Mr Thao and Mr Kueng are also charged with failing to stop Chauvin’s use of force.

The three officers have pleaded not guilty.

Key Points

• What are the charges?
• How prosecutors presented opening arguments
• George Floyd’s girlfriend barred from testifying
• Floyd family speaks out after opening arguments in officers’ trial
• At least one former officer is expected to testify

[25 January 2022 22:33 · Josh Marcus]

Officers labelled scene as safe before killing George Floyd: 911 dispatcher

Officers called in a Code 4 as their arrest of George Floyd progressed, according to the testimony of Jena Scurry, the 911 dispatcher who sent officers to contact Mr Floyd and witnessed the arrest virtually through a CCT V feed.

Code 4, Ms Scurry explained on Tuesday, means officers regarded the scene as safe. Still, they ended up using deadly force on George Floyd, who died as officers knelt on top of him for 9 minutes.

[25 January 2022 22:57 · Josh Marcus]

911 dispatcher called sergeant because something was ‘wrong’ with George Floyd arrest

Jena Scurry, a 911 dispatcher who observed the George Floyd arrest through a CCTV feed, is telling jurors how she began to fear something was going “wrong” with the stop when it appeared the video had frozen.

Then she realised the picture was fine, and officers had in fact been squatting on top of a near-motionless George Floyd.

Eventually, Ms Scurry says she “took it upon herself” to call a sergeant to review the incident.

In a recording of her call played during the Derek Chauvin trial, she was heard saying, “Call me a snitch if you want to,” before describing to the supervising officer how “all of them sat on this man.”

[25 January 2022 23:01 · Josh Marcus]

Ambulance arrived at George Floyd arrest scene in minutes, defence says

Defence attorneys for the three officers on trial have consistently pointed to what they say is a stream of speedy decisions the former Minneapolis policeman made to look after George Floyd’s health.

Lawyer Earl Gray, who represents former MPD officer Thomas Lane, noted that an ambulance arrived to Cup Foods in about 7 minutes after officers radioed in a mouth injury that Mr Floyd had sustained. One of the charges the trio of officers who assisted Derek Chauvin are facing is that they failed to deliver timely medical aid to Mr Floyd.

[25 January 2022 23:15 · Josh Marcus]

That’s all for today

That’s the end of questioning for today. Court will be back in session tomorrow at the federal courthouse in St Paul, Minnesota.

[25 January 2022 23:23 · Josh Marcus]

Signing off for the night

That’s all for today’s rolling coverage of the federal civil rights trial of the officers who arrested George Floyd.

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