The murder trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin will continue Thursday as the defense continues witness testimony.
Thursday’s proceedings come a day after Judge Peter Cahill denied a motion to acquit Chauvin and after a lengthy testimony from a medical expert who testified that George Floyd’s death was caused by a sudden cardiac arrythmia.
Lawyers for both the prosecution and defense spent most of Wednesday questioning David Fowler, the former chief medical examiner for the Maryland Department of Health.
Under questioning for the defense, Fowler said he believed Floyd’s hearth arrythmia occurred due to a number of factors, including Chauvin’s restraint, the drugs in Floyd’s system and the exhaust from a nearby squad car.
However, under cross-examination, Fowler told prosecutors that he hadn’t seen any data that showed Floyd had any carbon monoxide related injuries.
Throughout the trial, prosecutors have alleged that Floyd’s death was directly caused by Chauvin’s decision to kneel on Floyd’s neck and shoulder for more than eight minutes. State-called medical experts have testified that Floyd suffered a heart attack due to a lack of oxygen in his body.
Defense lawyers have attempted to paint a picture that shows other forces outside of the viral nine-minute bystander video that fueled months of protest last summer were at work in Floyd's death. They point to Floyd’s drug use as a potential cause of death and have called witnesses that have justified Chauvin’s use of force.
In addition to denying the motion to acquit on Wednesday, Judge Cahill also granted an invocation to a state-called witness, Morries Hall, who invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination when asked to take the stand.
Hall was in Floyd’s car when police attempted to take Floyd into custody.
Chauvin is charged with second- and third-degree murder in connection with Floyd's death.
Cahill said earlier this week that he believes there’s a chance that the defense could wrap up arguments by the end of this week, meaning closing arguments and jury deliberations could begin early next week.
The trial of Derek Chauvin will continue Thursday morning at 10:30 a.m. ET.
Watch coverage of the Derek Chauvin trial here.
Court TV will be the only network with cameras in the courtroom and will provide live, gavel-to-gavel coverage.
The entire trial will be on live TV as well as available online atCourtTV.com, and the Court TV app for Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and Android and Apple devices.
