break the back of the state of exception. people are often views as exceptions and we have to finally mablg ourselves in a context anew. >> thank you for watching, that wrachs up this hour. hallie jackson has breaking news coverage right now. >> right now our special coverage on msnbc. one of the highest are profile murder trials in modern u.s. history. they are set to begin the trial of derek chauvin.

the fired veteran police officer pressing his knee on the neck of george floyd. it sparked months of nationwide justice and a reckoning on race. the trial a potentially defining moment for race relations here in the u.s. i'm hallie jackson in washington and gabe gutierrez in minneapolis. paul butler, a federal prosecutor with the d.o.j., a professor at georgetown law. over the next 30 minutes until the opens statements again that we will bring you live, we will give you a preview of what to expect today and for the next month, more or less. the strategies of the prosecution and defense. a break down of the key players to watch. what we're hearing this morning from the family of george floyd

and what they're hoping for, and context around the impact of floyd's death and the reckoning on race that came from it. here we are, gabe, 30 minutes away from opening statements. we expect in 15 minutes or so jurors will be seated. the trial expected to probably go around four weeks. talk to us about what is ahead. >> hey there, yes, after several weeks of high drama of jury selection that included that highly unusual civil settlement in all, the heavy security around the courthouse behind me. just a few minutes ago the family of george floyd along with the families attorneys took a knee for about nine minutes. that is symbolic frame of mind that derek chauvin knelt on his

neck. plus a recently added charge of third-degree murder. he has plead guilty to all of the charges, but his attorneys are expected to zero in on exactly how george floyd died and allege that he died from high levels of drugs in his system. but the floyd family calls that a distraction. the prosecution is expected to focus on that video where chauvin knelt on floyd's neck for about nine minutes. reverend al sharpton said it is not just derek chauvin on trial, but the ability to deal with police accountability is on trial in is not just a trial about george floyd's behavior, but the behavior of derek chauvin. 15 jurors have been selected. one is set to be dismissed

today. that will be 14 jurors, 12 to make the decision and two alternates. there are nine women and six men. as you mentioned the trial is expected to go two to four weeks and a very important point is that for the first time in the state's history a minnesota judge allowed these proceedings to be broadcast live. certainly closely watched around the world. >> and that is why we're seeing this live shot of the courtroom. the jury will not be shown. the 15th selected juror was let go. the process now, this is a bit of the preamble. the tee up to what we expect to again at 10:30 eastern time. about 26 minutes from now when opening statements again. chuck and paul, let me bring you in here.

let me zero in on the prosecution. you have chauvin charged with second degree murder. walk us through what you think you will hear from prosecutors in their opening. >> sure, the prosecution will attempt to prove and they have to do it beyond a reasonable doubt that chauvin caused the death of mr. floyd. that will be at issue in the trial. did he chi because of underlying health conditions or even if he was unhealthy, or even if he had drugs in his system did the officer kill him unlawfully. they're going to focus on the length of time that his knee was on mr. floyd's neck. they will speak about the fizz logical effect of that. they will try to prove that the officer's actions were the proximate cause of floyd's

death. that's the entire case for them. they can do it one of two ways. they can show the actions of the officer were intentional, or that it was unintentional, but with such disregard that the actions never the less killed him. they can prove he committed murder if he acted intentionally or manufacture if it was unintentional as long as they show that the actions resulted in mr. floyd's death. >> wahl, can you talk about the defense? more about that? his lawyers are expected as chuck laid out that it was not their client, it was potentially drugs, pre-existing medical conditions, and can you tack about the tone that the defense is hoping to set today? >> under the constitution of the united states the defense does not have to prove anything. in the eyes of the law, derek

chauvin is an benefit man. as a practical matter that means that the defense has to poke holes in the case that chuck just laid out. they'll say that chauvin did not kill floyd, they will say he died of a lethal combination of a drug overdose and his serious pre-existing medical conditions. these are dangerous drugs that created a life threatening situation that sent floyd to the hospital in a previous arrest. they will say it is reasonable because he was resisting arrest. he is existing his car.

at the time they used this force it was legal in minneapolis. you may feel like it is george floyd on trial, not derek chauvin. >> gabe, remembering at the center of this is george floud who is not a similarble, but a human being. we saw them along with attorneys this morning. they are heading into what is certain to be a draining emotional experience for them. >> yes, certainly hallie. his brother is expected to be in the courtroom today, one member of the george floyd family is allowed in the courtroom, but i have been speaking with them since this all began and it has

been a long journey. they have been testifying about police reform, but they spoke about it earlier today and take a listen. >>. >> this case to us is a slam dunk. we know the video is proof. he is a guy that was sworn in to protect. he killed my brother in broad daylight. we will be there today to sit there and look and see what is going on. >> he is charged with three different crimes. does it matter to you or your family which charge he is found guilt of? do you want him found guilty of anything? >> i really think he should be found guilty with at least

second degree murder. it clearly showed that he killed my brother. my brother was standing up just fine. he was put on his back, and he decided to kill my brother with the other officers because no one tried to render aid. when people tried to they were stopping people for stopping them. george will be with me and my lord and savior will be with me, too. this is not a hard case. we just want justice. we want a conviction. if you can't get justice as a black than in america for this, what can you get justice for then? >> and hallie, i spoke with bridget floyd who was in the courtroom in one of those days. she walked out when the defense

attorney was bringing up the drug use. it is certainly a very emotional trial in the coming weeks as this all unfolds, hallie. >> and you will be there reporting every step of the way. if you can't get justice as a black man in america for this what can you get justice for them? you also have ben crump who called this a seminole moment in history. do you agree with that? >> yes, and if i could just step back a bit, i think a lot of interpretations depend on when we begin the story. chauvin had 18 complaints on his krord already. in 2017 he pinned a 14-year-old child to the ground so hard that he lost consciousness. this is a consequence when the

state treats communities as criminal on their face. i don't think that justice is possible at this point. the most that we can hope for is accountability. we have a long history of procedural and moral failure with respect to black communities and policing. so we had shows and thousands of people that took to the streets and risked exposure to a deadly virus. and the question is whether or not the system responds to the decent of the governed, right? or if this rogue force will be allowed to willy nilly kill people. the larger context is really quite profound. and the grief continues to accumulate because we don't get

a transformation. >> i know you will be staying here with us. thank you. court as you noticed that live shot went away, they're on a very short recess. just a brief one. we expect the courtroom to energy the jury room. we have a tipping point in u.s. history. a conversation with members of the city's black community. the city's black community >> what happens if there isn't a conviction? >> i can't let myself think about that. i started to and i just started crying. i started to and i just crying we didn't stop at compu. we didn't stop at storage or cloud. we kept going. working with our customers to enable the kind of technology that can guide an astronaut back to safety. and help make a hospital come to you,

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back now with a live look,

the murder trial of derek chauvin is about to enter the courtroom. the opening daytimes will start right after that. we're going to bring that to you live. while we look ahead to that it is important to take a step back and remember how we got here. it was ten months ago that that national reckoning on race started. >> a black man pinned to the ground and later died after the officer kneeled on his neck. he could be heard saying i can't breathe. >> this has to stop. >> in minneapolis protests are demanding that the officers be arrested. >> tonight after daying of anger, pain, and protest, an arrest connected to the death of george floyd. >> 50 states now have seen

protests and demonstrations. >> i'm tired of pain. paint you feel when you watch something like that. when you watch your big brother, who you looked up to for your whole life die begs for his mom i'm here to ask you to make it stop. stop the pain. stop us from being tired. you sad down with some local folks to talk about race, policing in america, tell us about that conversation. >> the stuff that you were just playing, the protests across america. part of that was born out of the idea and people told me this when i was in minneapolis, what

more do they need. but there is a possibility that, because as you just discussed, that he may not get convicted. and i spoke to people about that. i gathered with a ground of black minnesotans and asked what would happen if he is not convicted. >> i started to and i just started crying. one of the biggest differences between this case and so many other cases is that this was not a shooting. this was nine minutes of a man with a smug look on his face, hands in his pockets. >> i don't want to imagine it. i think when i let my mind get there and i think about that reality of no conviction, i

think of the community that has been continuously hurt for so long hurting yet again. >> what would happen is i would not be surprised if he is not convicted. we have seen time and again throughout history. the question should be what do we as a society do about it? >> we have seen the evidence. the world has seen the evidence of it. so for there not to be a conviction wo you would be injustice thwarts the community or the family. >> and as you hear around me, sbron straights are under way. there is high computer around the courts right now. police are definitely worried in this city and elsewhere about what happens in the course of the next few weeks if he is not convicted for his role in

killing george floyd. thank you, as we mentioned just a couple mntts to go. we want to tell you now that we expect in the course of those statements that we will hear language and see images that could be defensive or disturbing. this trial as we have been talking about is historic and news worthy. we have a team standing they be will try to manage any of that potentially profane language, but wanted to let you know in advance that that could happen. i know that you have been covering who is delivering on behalf of the defense? >> i want to give you one quick update from the producer that is monitoring things.

the 15th juror has been executioned because there is only 14 seats in that covid modified courtroom. we knew this would be happening because in the course of the process we knew they would seat 15 people, but the judge always said that he was going to plan to dismiss that 15th juror. so the last juror seated, he would dismiss him once the other 14 showed up. he wanted to make sure he had 14 jurors there. two will be alternates. we won't know who they are until the deliberations begin. so what do we know about the jury? we have nine women. there is six men. eight are white, four black, and two identify as multiracial. as that is happening inside the courtroom i want to point out what we're seeing outside of the courtroom. we just saw the floyd family

after they had that press conference. they went in, they got wanded and went into the courtroom. anything that they're seeing we'll see from not the courtroom, but the overflow room. ali mentioned the security measures. you see some of that behind me. you see some of the wire, the layers of fencing. this is a site that is familiar in the downtown minneapolis area. this is not what the complete city looks like but this is what you see around the downtown area. this is the focus of the trial in is the security and some parameters that you're seeing where the trial of that exofficer accused of killing george floyd will be taking place. i'm looking now and it looks like the judge got back to the stand. he will be making some comments and we expect him to wear in the 14 remaining jurors.

one juror dismissed as planned and later on we expect to hear the opening statements which is the prosecution laying out that case against that exofficer accused of killing george floyd. >> you're watching the judge standing and wearing in the jurors. the 14 jurors that you just mentioned meaning that the trial is set to begin, it has begun, but the opening statements will begin in the next five minutes or so. i want to bring in paul lut ber, a former u.s. attorney. keith, let me started with you there has been a cushion about this that in this trial it is not race or racism on trial here. there is a more specific legal set of questioning that will be front and center. and that is creating a gap, and

the legal implications of this trial. >> for sure, i think we're all getting an education about the legal process. and what that means. certainly the three charges that we have before us will educate us all about what it means to have a depraved mind. what is unintigsal murder and what is manslaughter as well. i think with those charges, what it means for black folks in history. and i think that matters to african-americans in the city, the state, and the country. will they get justice this time around. this is the case of the century. the trial of the century. and we will see what happens.

folks are waiting and holding their breath because this is one that african-americans have to get if we're going to reset the course of justice in this country. >> what is the expectation? you know this area and this state well. what is the expectation for the community response to what we see unfold today and in the weaks to come. >> i think it will be watting with baited breath, but also not convine ds fully that the family will receive justice. again locally, and in the state as well as nationally, jamar clark is still on the minds of many people, filando catille. they wonder how it was possible

to convict a black police officer in the justine damon case. we can't get similar justice for a white police officer. we'll see what happens. the community is waiting patiently but a lot of them on pins and needles and we'll expect to not receive justice as you heard. >> the judge is delivering the instructions for the jury in the days and the weeks ahead. explain the goal of a judge in a case like this particularly when it comes to a case as highly profile and watched as this one. >> the key here is the judge wants the jurors to focus on

what they see and hear in the courtroom. as we know the defense has struggled mightly to try to convince the judge that the previle publicity and the media attention on this case render any juror incapable of voting for a fair verdict. but this is not the first high profile case to come before a court or a court in minnesota. every juror testified they have been able to put aside what they heard and render a fair vekt. so the judge will remind them of their duty to only consider the evidence. there may not be prevoting deliberations, and he will remind team this they should cut themselves off from hearing any further news about this trial now that they have all been sworn in. >> paul, there was a $27 million

civil settlement. is that until you expect would, could, or should not come up. >> it should not and will not come up on pre-questioning. the jurors were told to forget everything they know about the case including the settlement and just focus on the evidence in court. this juror is more diverse than the city of minneapolis. the city is about 20% american, the juror is half people of color. it's also unusually young with seven people in their 20s and 30s. in theory that's good for the prosecute. but all 12 will have to agree for there to be a conviction or an acquitacquittal. if one person holds out that's a hung jury that will lead to a mistrial.

we have seen this, there is not many cases that make it necessarily to trial and beyond that to a conviction. what does this case represent as we talk about the community level here and the community response. what does it represent on a broader scale as it relates to social justice. >> part of the fear that you shared that people have, the skepticism that it will have a just conclusion, actually represents a real frustration about how communities protest to experience a social transformation. this case has to proceed on it's own sterms, but it's also the case that the racial bias, the attitudes about communities of color, they do make their way into the deliberations of jurors

even when they're not supposed to. jurors are not purely objective. they're not even when information is held from them, they walk into the chambers with a society that treats black people as prima fascia criminal. as a consequence part of what happens in these rare moments when there is a trial that we're still impacted by the larger social order. so to a certain extent these moments are part of the choreography that feels frustrating because we really do need a large scale social transformation. so we look for a particular outcome, but it's the tip of a very large iceberg. >> paul, you mentioned the make up of the juror, and i should not here that the judge is reassuring the jurors that the

cameras have been set up so we can see this live shot in the courtroom, we are able to watch all of this live. they are angled in a specific way to never show the jurors faces on camera. we have been seing defense and prosecution. their questioning later in the trial will be something visible. but paul we won't see the juror. do you anticipate that the defense or the prosecution may try to get specific for aiming certain arguments, if you will, towards people in that jury box. >> the jurors had to fill out a 14 page questionnaire, and they were questioned about everything from how do they feel about black lives matter to blue lives matter. so way more information about every single juror then lawyers

usually get. google is another tool. over the weekend you can be sure that both sides looked on social media trying to get every tidbit. from the defense they just need one juror to hold out to vote for acquittal and then they get their hung jury that the defense will consider a victory. the prosecution has to get all 12 on their side to get their conviction. >> rachael we expect part of the trial to include evidence from george floyd's 2019 arrest. how do you think they will counter act that from a strategic perspective? >> the defense from the inception of this trial played the race card in a very volatile way. they tried to move the trial out of the city of minneapolis to have it before a nearly all-white jury. they struck african-americans from the jury pool that

testified about their discriminatory conspiracies with the police. and now they're trying to say that george floyd caused his own death. we will not hear aboutderek chauvin's past, and they're trying to say that because of alleged resistance that is far less than what we have seen in a typical case, as well as his use of drugs that always of those were reason for his behavior and that his refusal to comply was a combination of underlying conditions and that derek chauvin had to police but to put

him under his knee. i'm trying to figure out how it is relevant if he knew or suspected that illegal narcotics were playing a part in his arrest. that was all more reason for him to intervene. >> the judge is now wrapping up his instructions to the jury. we want to warn you that some of what you might see or hear could be offensive or disturbing. we're live. >> may it please the court, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, good morning. i'm jerry blackwell. i apologize for talking to you through the plexiglass.

you want to learn in this case a lot about what it means to be a public servant and to have the honor of wearing this package. it is a small badge. it carries a large responsibility and a large accountability to the public. what does it stand for? it's the motto of the mipsz police department. to protect with courage and serve with passion and it represents the essence of the approach to the use of force against citizens when appropriate. a sanctity of life and the protection of the public will be the corner stone. and that is worn right over the

officer's heart. but you're also going to learn that the officer's take an oath when they become police officers. they take an oath to enforce the law and as you learn never employing unnecessary force or violence. i recognize that my badge is a symbol of public faith and i accept it so that i'm preserving the ethics of the police force. all of this matters. you will learn on may 25th of 2020 mr. derek chauvin betrayed

this badge. he used excessive and unreasonable force on the body of mr. george floyd. that he put his knees upon his neck and his back, grinding and crushing him until the very breath, until the very life, was squeezed out of him. mr. floyd was unarmed. that mr. floyd did not threaten anyone. he was in handcuffs and completely in the control of the police, he was defenseless. you will learn what happened in that 9:29 seconds, what happened in those nine minutes 29 seconds

when he applied excessive force to the body of mr. george floyd. we have two objectives, ladies and gentlemen. first to give mr. chauvin a fair trial. he has a presumption of innocence. he is presumed didn't until proven guilty. we plan to prove to you beyond a reasonable doubt that he was anything other than innocent on may 25th, 2020. the second objective is to bring you evidence, that i'm trying to preview this morning. we're bringing this case for the excessive force that was applied on to the body of mr. george floyd for engaging in behavior that was eminently dangerous in the force that he applied without regard for the life of mr. george floyd. so let's begin by focusing on

what we will learn about this nine minutes and 29 seconds. you will hear him saying please, i can't breathe. you will see that it is mr. floyd handcupped there on the ground he verbalizes 25 times that i can't breathe, please, i can't breathe. you will see that mr. chauvin is kneeling on his black and neck. he has one knee on his back that is off and on as you can see for yourself in the video footage. you will hear mr. floyd as he is crying out for his mother. he was very close to his mother. you will hear him say tell my kids i love them. you will hear him say about his fear of dieing, he says "i'll probably die this way, i'm

through, i'm through, they're going to kill me, they're going to kill me, man. you will hear him cry out in pain. my stomach hurts, my neck hurts, everything hurts, you will hear that for yourself. please, i can't believe, please, your knee on my neck. you will hear it and see it. the knee remains on his neck. sun glasses undisturbed on his head, and it just goes on. you will hear him final words when he says "i can't breathe." before that time you will hear his voice get heavier. you will hear his words further apart. you will see his res picture ration gets shallower and shallower. and finally stops when he speaks his last words. i can't breathe. and once we have his final

words, for 53 seconds he is completely silent and virtually motion less with this sporatic movements. mr. floyd was no longer breathing when he was making these movements. you will hear about an anoxic seizure. it is the body's automatic reflection when breathing has stopped due to oxygen derivation. we will be able to point out to you when you will see the movements that are part of his seizure. you will also learn about something when the heart is stops and blood is no longer going through the vains, you will hear the body gasp. we'll point out to you when mr. floyd is having this breathing

as an involuntary reflection to the oxygen derivation. so we learn here that mr. floyd is passed out. mr. chauvin does not let up or get up for the remaining 3:51. in this period of time you will learn that he is told that they can't even find the pulse. you learn that he is told that twice, they can't find the pulse. you will be able to see for yourself what he does on response. you will see that he does not let up and he does not get up, even when mr. floyd does not have a pulse. it continues on. it continues on, ladies and gentlemen, even after the ambulance arrives on the scene. the ambulance is there and you will be able to see for yourself

what mr. chauvin is doing. you will be able to compare how he looks in this photograph to how he looked in the first 4:45. same position. doesn't let up, and you will see he doesn't get up. the paramedic comes over, he checks mr. floyd for a pulse. he has to check him for a pulse, you'll see, but mr. chauvin remaining on his body at the same time. doesn't get up even when the paramedic comes to check for a pulse. you will see they have taken the gurney out of the ambulance, and mr. chauvin still does not let up or get up. you will see it wasn't until such time as they start, they want to move the lifeless body

of george floyd on to the gurney only then does he let up and get up and you will see him drag mr. floyd's body and unceremoniously cast it on to the gurne yerks. that was for a total of 4:44. you can see here that for the first 4:45 you will learn that he was calling out crying for his life. and not just mr. floyd. you're going to hear and see any number of bystanders there that were calling to let up and get up so let him breathe and maintain and sustain his life. for the remaining time he was unconscious, breathless, or pulseless. and the compression went on.

you're going to learn in this case quite a lot about the minneapolis police department's use of force policy. what you're going to see and learn a lot about is what is a standard for applying force. you are ready that they will only use the amtt of force that is reasonable. the force used shall be consistent with current training. the use of force must be evaluated from one moment to the next moment. from moment to moment. what may be reason in the first minute may not be in the second, the fourth, or the ninth.

it has to be evaluated from moment to moment. you will also learn that the minneapolis police are procolluded, not allowed, to use any more force than is necessary to bring a person under their control. you will meet an expert who is a sergeant and use of for expert. he is going to tell you that the force he was using was lethal force capable of killing a human or putting his or her life in danger. the evidence will show you that there was no evidence in place to use that force against a man who was handcuffed and not

resisting. you will hear from the minneapolis police sergeant who will come talk with you. he is was the officer on the scene right after this took place. he will tell you that the force against mr. floyd should have ended as soon as they put him on the ground in the first place meaning that the 9:29 should not have even been one. and that it went on for way too long in terms of the restraint on the ground. you're also going to learn about another very important policy in the minneapolis police department. you will hear this afraid that police have to live by in terms of how they relate to the public. in your custody is in your care. in your custody is in your care. meaning that if you as an

officer have a individual, a subject, it is in your duty to do that. it is a feeling, hear from any number of police officers who will talk about that this duty to provide care, officer nicole mckennedy, the minneapolis police department medical support coordinator, you will hear from sergeant kara yang, the crisis intervention coordinator. in your custody is in your care. when mr. floyd was unconscious, that when he was breathless, when he did not have a pulse, that there was a duty to have administered care, to let up and get up, you will learn. you will listen to minneapolis police commander katie

blackwell. no relation, to my knowledge. you will hear from her. she will tell you about the training mr. chauvin received. you will hear that he was a veteran on the minneapolis police department for 19 years, had been trained in cpr multiple times at the time. and you will be able to see for yourself that when floyd was in distress, mr. chauvin wouldn't help him, didn't help him. but you are also going to see that he stopped anybody else from being able to help him. you will learn that amongst the bystanders was a first responder, a member of the minneapolis fire department who was trained in administering first aid. she's going to come and talk with you. she wanted to check on mr. floyd's well-being. she wanted him to let up and get up. she did her best to intervene,

to be able to act to intercede on mr. floyd's behalf. he reached for his mace and pointed it at her. she couldn't help. she will talk with you about that experience. you will learn in the aftermath of this, that mr. chauvin's last day of employment with the minneapolis police department was on may 26th of 2020. the minneapolis chief of police is going to come here to talk with you. he was the police chief at the time. he is the chief today. he is going to tell you that mr. chauvin's conduct was not consistent with minneapolis police department training, was not consistent with minneapolis police department policy, was not reflective of the

minneapolis police department. he will not mince any words. he is very clear. he will be very decisive that this was excessive force. ultimately, ladies and gentlemen, what was this all about in the first place? you are going to learn it was about a counterfeit 20 dollar bill used at a convenience store. that's all. you will not hear any evidence that mr. floyd knew it was fake or did it on purpose. you will learn from witnesses we will call that the police officers could have written him a ticket and let the court sort it out. you will learn that even if he did it on purpose, it was a minor offense, a misdemeanor. in terms of the charges that we are bringing, we are going to prove to you that mr. chauvin's conduct was a substantial cause of mr. floyd's death.

we have charged him with murder in the second degree, murder in the third degree and manslaughter for using excessive force against george floyd. you will learn that the use of excessive force is an assault. in this case we will show you that this was an assault that contributed to taking his life, an assault. we are going to show you that putting knees on somebody's neck, mr. floyd's, putting a neon his back for nine minutes and 29 seconds was a dangerous activity. he did it without regard to what impact it had on mr. floyd's life. we're going to show you that also. the prone position, on your stomach, face down, it was uncalled for. it was excessive use of force, let alone for nine minutes and 29 seconds. how are we going to prove these

charges? we are going to prove it, ladies and gentlemen, first and foremost by witness testimony. we are going to bring in some of the bystanders that i referred to, normal folks. they will tell you why they stopped, what they saw, why they were concerned. they will tell you from that witness chair. we will bring them if here. you will hear from any number of police officers responsible for training, responsible for what the officers learn around first aid, coming to the care of others. we will bring in a number of police officers, including the chief of police. we are also going to bring in various professionals and experts, medical experts, experts in police conduct. you will meet any number of them. you will have here a forensic pathologist, dr. thomas, who studies the tissues of the deceased as a forensic pathologist to determine the cause and manner of death. you will hear from a

pulmonologist, dr. tobin, a lung specialist, cardiologist, heart specialist, critical care physicians, emergency medicine physicians, internal medicine and also from toxicology. we are also going to bring into court dr. andrew baker who is the head of the county medical examiner who will tell about you what he found. we will also bring him in. we will also bring in experts who will prove that the use of force here was not reasonable. i mentioned earlier jody steiger, chief of staff for the l.a. police department and seth stoughton. you will hear from both of them. i spent a few minute talking to you about what this case is about. there are any number of things that this case is not about. maybe an infinite number. one of those things that this case is not about, all police,

or all policing. you will learn from the chief when he comes that police officers have difficult jobs. they have to make slit second decisions. they sometimes have to make life and death decisions. in this trial, you are going to meet any number of the men and women from the minneapolis police department who do a fantastic job. they are committed, take very seriously preserving the sanctity of life. i mentioned sergeant yang, officer mckenzie to name a few. this case is about mr. derek chauvin and not about any of those men and women and it's not about all policing at all. this case is not about split second decision making. in nine minutes and 29 seconds, not a split second. that's what this case is about. you are going to hear from one

of the bystanders, charles mcmullin. charles is going to talk to you about the excessive force that he saw mr. chauvin displaying on may 25th. he will tell you what he experienced in the way that mr. chauvin looked at him and the other bystanders who were calling out for mr. floyd's life. he will tell you what he saw in terms of mr. chauvin never letting up and getting up on this body. you will be able to observe mr. chauvin's body language for yourself in the video and determine what that language says to you. i'm going to show you in a moment one of the videos you will see in the trial to tee up for you what will be the essence of what we will be focused on in the trial. i need to tell you ahead of time that the video is graphic, it

can be difficult to watch. it is simply the nature of what we are dealing with in this trial, ladies and gentlemen. you are going to see any number of videos from the police officers who had body cameras on. you are also going to see videos from the bystanders, normal folks, the bystanders. you are going to see these bystanders, a bouquet of humanity, these bystanders. you will see here a little girl who is wearing a green shirt on the right with the words love on the green shot. i won't say her name now because she's a minor. she's going to talk with you about what she saw. next to her in the blue pants is her cousin who at the time was also a minor. i won't tell you her name. she's going to come in and talk to you. the cousin was taking the

younger to cup foods to be able to pick up candy and snacks when they came upon what was happening with mr. chauvin and mr. floyd on the ground. next to the young woman in the blue pants is the first responder who tried to intervene to check his pulse and check on mr. floyd. she will testify to you. next to her is a young man named donald williams, security background. he is trained in mixed martial arts. who was very excited, alarmed about what he saw in the exchange between mr. chauvin on top of george floyd. he will come in and testify to you. any number of the bystanders -- others will come in to talk with you. they come from the broad spectrum of humanity, different races, different genders. you have older people, younger people. but you will see that what they all had in common is they were going