all right as we wait for the defense attorney eric nelson to reka menses cross-examination of the witness the 1st witness to take the trial just tell you what we've been seeing the past half hour or so and that is his cross-examination off jenna scurry or once again she's the 911 dispatcher who had alerted her police supervisor and may after she watched officers pin george floyd to the ground live on surveillance camera a little earlier on about an hour and a half or so ago the prosecution was questioning her and they asked her to watch that surveillance camera video of the arrest and at the time she had to explain what she saw and earlier on during the day with the opening statements the prosecutor one of the prosecutors jerry blackwell said that jenna scary of the 1st witness had done something quote she had never done in her career she called the police on the police and now we can get back to eric nelson a defense attorney and listen to what he has to say. to me in 11 seconds. here emasculate 3 from squad 330 it's called 2135 seconds. arrival time of. 2036. so he 2036 seconds in the u

we've heard from eric nelson. he has previously represented police officers inlved in shootings. over the trial is judge peter cahill. the judge will be decided by a jury of 12 with three backup jurors if they are needed. we know the jury is made up of nine white jurors and six that are black or multiracial. here is judge cahill giving the jury its instructions. >> as i said during jury instruction, you are not investigators. you'reot to go out doing and looking, you are not to use the internet to look for information on this case or about the law. you should avoid all news if possible. at the very least, you should avoid anything involving the case. >> the world is very much watching. last year george floyd's desk sparked huge protests across the u.s. and in many other countries too. the anger and upset that we solve in remains, as we could see on sunday in minneapolis. hundreds of active is held what they called it justice marks that culminate in a vigil. this is today, george floyd's family, lawyers, and civil-rights leaders knelt together for eight minutes and 46 seconds, mar

looks in different on top of a dead body and it was just eerie watching the defense's attorney eric nelson is saying that they will argue that chauvin did quote exactly what he had been trained to do as a police officer he also said the use of force is not attractive but it is a necessary component of policing what stood out for you from the defense's argument. so a couple things the 1st thing that stood out is that the defense opened with reasonable doubt and there is a massive debate among defense attorneys as to whether one should do that very many and i fall into this category will open their opening remarks with my client is innocent he did not illegally cause the death of and go from there and there was no claims of innocence so it opened up that this is a reasonable doubt case so he's he's casting his lot to the jury believing that they can't do it a that the government cannot prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt his theme here is commonsense in reason common sense and reason so that's eric nelson see he kept coming back to that common sense in reason so what he wants to say is

amy chavin's attorney eric : nelson also disputed the charge that chauvin's actions led to the death of george floyd. >> this will be another significant fact in this trial, what was his actual cause of death. the evidence will show that mr. floyd died of cardiac arithmetic because of hypertension, coronary disease, ingestion of methamphetamine, the adrenaline flowing through his body. all of this acted to further compromise. amy: earlier in the trial special osecutor jerry blackwell acknowledged george floyd struggled with an opioid addiction but argued the evidence shows he died from excessive force, not a drug overdose. the first witness called in the trial was minneapolis 911 dispatcher jena scurry. she explained to the prosecutor that she alerted a police supervisor after seeing live surveillance footage showing office derek chauvin kneeling on george floyd's neck for an extended period of time. >> i just remembered looking up and seeing the situation hadn't changed. >> the recall how long that was? >> no. it was long enough that i could look back multiple times. >> when you did

. >> reporter: chauvin's attorney, eric nelson, made clear this will also be a battle of experts. >> this will ultimately be another significant battle in this trial. what was mr. floyd's actual cause of death? >> reporter: he wants the jury to look at the whole scene and listen to the use of force and medical experts as well as read the medical reports. >> that revealed mr. floyd had an exceptionally high level of carbon dioxide. dr. baker found none of what are referred to as the telltale signs of asphyxiation. there was no petechial hemorrhaging. there was no evidence that mr. floyd's air flow was restricted. >> reporter: instead he suggested it was illicit drugs found in floyd's system that aggravated a medical condition that took floyd's life. >> hypertension, his coronary disease, the ingestion of methamphetamine and fentanyl and the adrenaline flowing through his body, all of which acted to further compromise an already compromised heart. >> reporter: there was one thing that defense and prosecution did agree on. >> there is no political or social cause in this courtroom. >> r

he goes on to write eric nelson predictably use the opening statement to make floyd the defendant and the onlookers the accomplices. several times he highlighted floyd's physical size which should come to no surprise. the idea of a black man superhuman strength and subhuman and how to use it has been used to justify the straight, incarceration and. [inaudible] >> this than a half minute video and outpace the energy but when i was young i played hard so i have sat in church some and i feel i have learned what is right and wrong. and what these two cops showing in video did was wrong and deserve to be called pigs and blue. and to spend some time behind bars to figure out what was wrong. and this was over $20. also people in texas let your water run so it gets cold. >> west virginia welcome to the conversation. >>caller: i don't know if they could say george floyd died from drugs in his system when his windpipe was being constructed. >> that was your reaction when you watched yesterday? will you continue to watch? >> yes. >> what is going to your mind? have you feeling? >> i am conflicte

each day of jury selection defense attorney eric nelson has brought up drug use and set it is centraldrugs in the car, the contained mister floyd's dna drugs in both those cars were in his system. >> reporter: the overdose argument doesn't stand up. one reason can be seen in the tape, george floyd resists, fentanyl overdoses -- >> if he had died from fentanyl he would have been going down, respiratory, cardiac ability, he would not be struggling and yelling. >> the third-degree murder charge would be addressed in the morning and more jury selection. >> reporter: some good news. in indiana, an alternative solution, to take off his hat. then the insecure eighth-grader, did not like his bad haircut. the principal told the young man he had been cutting hair for years and asked if he could fix it. he used his own clippers to get the job done. he developed his skills cutting a college basketball team made's hair, a great ending for to the principal's office. that is it from washington. i am shannon bream. the worst genocide in human history also destroyed the lives of thousands of jewish su

eric nelson the defense attorney saying this is a lot more than that, there floyd was there for a long period of time. he lied to police officers, he was high. he struggled with police officers and you have to take into account the officers were dealing with a crowd that they at least perceived to be a threat. just as a veteran attorney your sense so far of the opening statements. >> i give no weight to the defense's opening statement whatsoever because the bulk of their statements have to do with that very notion of a crowd, of information that they would have known perhaps about whether george floyd actually had illegal substances in his body. these are things you would learn after the fact, not in terms of what the conduct of george floyd was. it's is very difficult to be able to focus in on this case. it's not about the crowd. it's not about the protests afterwards, it's not about prior arrests or prior incidents, it's about what happened, and what we initially thought was just eight minutes and 46 seconds. john, but you pointed out precisely, at the expansion to nine minutes and 2

. >> jerry blackwell for the prosecution, but we also heard from defense lawyer eric nelson asking the jury to consider all of the evidence in the case not just the widely circulated video. >> common sense tells you that there are always two sides to a story. common sense tells us that we need to examine the totality of the circumstances to determine the meaning of evidence and how it can be applied to the questions of reasonableness, of actions and reactions. there is no political or social cause in this courtroom, but the evidence is far greater than nine minutes and 29 seconds. >> nbc's jack brewster is in minneapolis. let's talk first of all, about what we heard from the prosecution and the defense today and what you are seeing around you. i know there was a news conference earlier with the "today" show interview with george floyd's brother. >> yeah, andrea. in the past two hours we've gotten essentially a preview of what the next two or three weeks will look like as this trial is under way. you heard up first on the prosecution who played that video. they first previewed that vide

. >> reporter: defense attorney eric nelson said floyd's death was the result of drug abuse and underdryingrt condition. >> evidence is far greater than 9 minutes and 21 seconds. >> reporter: day one also included the trial's first witnesses, among them a 911 operator who watched floyd's arrest, who initially thought it had frozen because the retrain had gone on so long. that dispatcher said she then called the police on the police. something she had never done before. >> my instincts were telling me that something was wrong. something was not right. i didn't know what, but something wasn't right. >> reporter: chauvin was charged with second degree murder as well as second degree manslaughter. he's pleaded not guilty. that trial is expected to pick back up this morning. lawyers on both sides making it abundantly clear to prove exactly how george floyd died will be crucial in this trial. anne-marie. >> all right. skyler henry in minneapolis. skyler, thank you so much. >>> president biden is warning americans to not let down their guard as the number of new coronavirus cases increased in more

. >> he was then cross-examined by the lead defense lawyer, eric nelson, who questioned mr.about his martial arts background, and about the timing of his arrival at the seed. at this exchange, we see mr. nelson questioning him about his own conduct during the arrest. >> it is fair to say that you grew angriernd angrier. >> i grew professional and professional and i stayed in my body. you can't make me out to be angry. >> your voice was loud, right? >> you are trying to intimidate me. >> most of the officers were on the other side. at one point in officer was across the street as well. >> yes. correct. >> you continued to yell these same types of things. >> correct. yeah. i wasn't being heard. >> and it was over and over and over and over again, right >> because i wasn't being heard. >> it is a yes or no question, sir. was it over and over andver again? >> yes, because i wasn't being heard. >> another witness, is under 18 and hurtful identity is being protected. she is the person who filmed the video that recorded what happened that was viewed the world over, that showed the

he goes on to write eric nelson predictably used his opening statement to try to make floyd the defendant and onlookers his accomplices. several times he highlighted floyd's physical size which should come to no surprise here throughout u.s. history the idea of a black man as superhuman in their strength and subhuman and how they use it has been used to justify our restraint, our incarceration, our lynchings. doug in fairfax south dakota. good morning. go ahead. >> good morning, greta. [inaudible] the adrenaline flowing it ticked me off come in other words. through my life i've worked hard and when i was young i played hard so i sat in jail before and i also have sat in church some and i feel i have learned what is right and what is wrong. what these two cops showed in figure did was wrong. absurd and deserve to be called pigs in blue. i need to spin, need to spend some time the hind bars to figure out it was wrong. also i think if i was there and seeing this i would have stepped in and ended up in jail again. this was over 20 box. also, people in texas, let your water run so when it gets

. >> reporter: her testimony became argumentative after defense attorney eric nelson pressed her if she would have been fighting a fire herself if a crowd showed up. suggesting chauvin was distracted. >> and would you describe other people's demeanors as upset or angry? >> it's -- it's -- i don't know if you've seen anybody be killed but it's upsetting. >> you will not argue with counsel. they have the right to ask questions. your job is to answer them. >> i was finishing my answer. >> i will determine when your 46 answer is done, and so do not argue with the court. do not argue with counsel. answer the questions, do not volunteer information that is not requested. >> reporter: now the judge ended the day halfway through hansen's testimony and she'll be back in court today. andrew, mona. >> ike, thank you. >>> breaking overnight two u.s. capitol police officers are suing former president trump in connection with the january riot. their civil lawsuit claims the officers suffered physical injuries and emotional trauma as a result of violent confront takes inside the capitol. the officers

. >> reporter: during cross-examination, defense attorney eric nelson portrayed the witnesses as part of an increasingly hostile crowd. that made it difficult for officers to concentrate on their job. >> it's fair to say that as you were there, you grew angrier. >> correct. you can't blame me i was angry. i was in a position where i had to be controlled. >> reporter: chauvin faces up to 40 years in prison if convicted of the most serious charge against him. so at some point we'll also hear from medical experts. the prosecution will call them to the stand. they are expected to testify as to why they feel as though chauvin's restraint is what led to george floyd's death. anne-marie? >> skyler henry in minneapolis. thank you so much. >>> republican congressman matt gaetz is reportedly under investigation over a possible sexual relationship with a minor. "the new york times" first reported that the justice department is investigating whether he had an inappropriate sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl and paid for her to travel with him. investigators want to determine whether gaet

. >> reporter: defense attorney eric nelson argues the police officers saw the crowd of onlookers as a threat. but he did not force the issue with the teenaged girls who testified today. he did aggressively question williams about his words to chauvin. >> you called him "bogus"? >> i did. >> you called him "a bum" at least 13 times. >> that's what you counted in the video? >> that's what i counted. >> then that's what you got, 13. >> those terms grew more and more angry, would you agree with that? >> they grew more and more pleading for life. >> the cross examination there of donald williams. alex perez with us from minneapolis. and i know the defense attorney also cross examining that firefighter, genevieve hansen, asking her about the crowd gathered at the scene, shouting at the police officers? >> reporter: yeah, david, the firefighter responded to defense by saying, i don't know if you've ever seen anyone be killed, it's upsetting. she clearly was frustrated. the entire cross examination was tense. the judge in the end telling her she must answer the questions asked of her. she's

members of defense attorney eric nelson said. quote derek showman did exactly what he had been trained to do over his 19 year career. the defense also argued that floyd's drug use led to his death along with heart disease, sex trafficking charges were added today to the indictment against the ex girlfriend of jeffrey epstein. prosecutors allege that just land max well groomed a 14 year old girl to recruit other young girls in the early two thousands. to provide sexual massages to epstein in return for money. maxwell has been in federal jail without bail since july. epstein you'll recall killed himself at a federal lockup in august of 2019. critics of george's new republican backed election law issued fresh calls today to boycott some of the state's largest businesses for not speaking out more forcefully against that law. the backlash comes one day after advocacy organizations filed a lot. suit in federal court challenging it. the law includes new restrictions on mail voting and gives the state legislature more control over the ad

, this tense moment that happened a little while ago between williams and the defense attorney, eric nelson there. nelson pressing him about the things that he could be heard saying to the officer on the scene. i don't think we have time to play it back right now, but, mary, i know you saw that exchange. what was the strategy there? what do we think the defense was trying to do? >> i think the defense is trying to do what he said in his opening statement that the bystanders, particularly mr. williams, were distracting the police from what they describe as caring for mr. floyd. i do think this may have backfired in a big way. i now think, the state can argue in its closing, what would you expect someone who was watching a man being killed to say and to do, who is being prevented from rendering any help? but i do think that was his strategy. >> again, donald williams on the stand right now. he testified that he called police on the police because he was convinced that he was witnessing a murder there. mr. henderson, in terms of -- you made a good point yesterday that it's not just the lawyers

on the other hand, derek chauvin's defence led by eric nelson is saying that the reason why he died is drug use, that they found fentanyl and methamphetamine in his blood that he had a history of other underlying health problems and that you cannot blame kneeling on his neck for the cause of his death, and every witness that we have come on the stand today, we have three witnesses, they tried to paint this narrative of a man who did not use proper police procedure, who betrayed his badge to the prosecution and what the defence did by cross—examining those witnesses is to try and prove that this was perfectly acceptable. this is what the police officer trained in this sort of incidence should have done. this incident as we know spreads protests right around the world. i was just wondering how it has impacted the united states politically and the political divide? , p, , politically and the political divide? , , ., , , divide? this has been a deeply charied divide? this has been a deeply charged trial _ divide? this has been a deeply charged trial already _ divide? this has been a deeply

tends to let murderous police officers off with a mere slap on the wrist should make them tourney eric nelson plans to appeal over the addition of a possible 3rd degree murder charge that appeal could delay the trial currently shaaban faces 2nd degree murder and manslaughter charges the city of minneapolis has prepared for this trial better than the nation's capital prepared for its threat of violence in advance of the january 6th and selection but we shouldn't be surprised that security forces bring all the stops when blacks are the population protesting city and county officials on the ground are spending over $1000000.00 ahead of the trial to protect building adding fences and barbed wire along the streets and bringing in the national guard and the full force of law enforcement the minneapolis courthouse and perimeter is essentially a militarized zone. 4 case already delayed by cope with 19 further delays potential pills are expected and even though george lord's name is no longer in daily news headlines that hasn't stopped activists on the ground civil rights leaders and attorneys from fi

than 27 different times, "i can't breathe. " on the other hand, derek chauvin�*s defence led by eric nelson is because he had a history of drug use, that they found fentanyl and methamphetamine in his blood, that he had a history of other underlying health problems, and you cannot blame kneeling on his neck for the cause of his death. and every witness that we have come on the stand today, we had three witnesses, they tried to paint this narrative of a man who did not use proper police procedure, who betrayed his badge according to the prosecution, and what the defence did by cross—examining those witnesses is to try and prove that this was perfectly acceptable. this is what a police officer trained in this sort of incidence should have done. this incident as we know spreads protests right around the world. i was just wondering how it has impacted the united states politically and the political divide? this has been a deeply charged trial already though it's just day one, because from the moment we saw the questioning of the jurors, when they were being sat, you can see the direction it was

he was then cross examined by the lead defence lawyer eric nelson.ed mr williams about his martial arts background and about the timing of his arrival at the scene. and in this combative exchange, mr nelson questioned mr williams about his own conduct during the arrest. and it is fair to say that prior to your arrival there, and it is fair to say that prior to yourarrivalthere, knew and it is fair to say that prior to your arrival there, knew had no idea what had been going on in the area? like i say, ijust saw that. i didn't— like i say, ijust saw that. i didn't know what was going on. he didn't know what was going on. testified didn't know what was going on. he: testified that as you came around the corner, the energy sort of appeal due to budget incident. that is totally correct. so, you would have absolutely no idea that an ambulance was called three minutes before you arrive. i ambulance was called three minutes before you arrive.— before you arrive. i don't know an hinu before you arrive. i don't know anything about _ before you arrive. i don't

a eric nelson tried to blame the crowd that gathered even though the people in that crowd were trying to get police to get off floyd's neck. even though derek chauvin stayed on his neck, stayed on his neck with the crowd yelling "let the man up." with him screaming "i can't breathe," 9 minutes, 29 seconds. that's how much time that was. >> there are cars stopping and people yelling. there is a growing crowd and officers perceive to be a threat. they're screaming at him. causing the officers to divert their attention to the threat that was growing in front of them. >> i thank you for your time. for those ten minutes you gave me your attention because that's about how long it has been since i started the open to this show. imagine that you are on the ground and your loved one on the ground for that long, already subdued by police. so the testimony is set to resume tomorrow. the country the world is watching this trial just like we watched that horrible video of george floyd's last moment. the video brought millions and millions of people out demanded justice, black, brown, white, old, y

pre-existing conditions, then he's innocent and what i thought was that while chauvin's lawyer, eric nelsond mention these things, talked about them a little bit, i didn't think he was forceful enough. i didn't think he was detailed enough. he talked about fentanyl, but he never said that george floyd had two to three times a lethal dose of fentanyl in his blood and he didn't talk about the fact that long before he encountered derek chauvin, derek chauvin's knee, he was complaining that he couldn't breathe, which is a symptom of fentanyl overdose, as is foaming at the mouth, as are the heavy lungs on autopsies which were filled with fluid. he mentioned it but didn't really make the point, and i don't know that he did enough to really get into the jurors heads the idea that there's another possibility here about what killed george floyd. >> laura: yeah, and -- >> he did a good job, who did a sensational job in their opening, really laying everything out, anticipating the defense and showing that video. when you watch that video, you want to convict and then for the [indiscernible] opening by

. >> reporter: chauvin's attorney eric nelson made clear this will also be a battle of experts. >> this will ultimately be another significant battle in this trial, what was mr. floyd's actual cause of death. >> reporter: he wants the jury to look at the whole scene and listen to the use of force and medical experts as well as immediate the medical reports. >> that reveal that mr. floyd had an exceptionally high level of carbon dioxide. dr. baker found none of what i referred to of the telltale signs of asphyxiation. there was no hemorrhaging. >> reporter: instead he argued it was elicit drugs found in floyd's system that aggravated a medical condition. >> the ingestion of methamphetamine and the adrenaline flowing through his body, all of which acted to further compromise an already-compromised heart. >> reporter: there was one thing the defense and prosecution did agree on. >> there is no political or social cause in this courtroom. >> reporter: that in the streets and for floyd's family, chauvin is not the only one on trial. america's justice system is. >> america is watching. >> rep

tense moment between the off duty firefighter and the defense attorney, the lead defense attorney eric nelsonwho questioned her training, questioned her memory. then the judge issued a warning to her to answer the questions as asked. what does that mean for the prosecution? >> i mean, what was happening in that moment is that the witness was being impeached. she was being impeached because the testimony she was giving in open court wasn't matching up with the testimony or statements she had given law enforcement a few days or weeks after the event occurred. so he was attempting to point out the fact that there was a misrepresentation and impeach the witness at that time. but you also saw -- and this is what happens in these cases and this is what happens when cameras are in the courtroom and we're able to see this -- this is a very, very emotional moment. people are passionate. we have to take a step back and think about the fact that this woman, regardless of what her job was, witnessed a man being murdered. you have a 9-year-old, you have a 17-year-old, you had these witnesses who were ther

here's defense attorney, eric nelson's, sole question. >> when you are on the scene of may 5th, 2020,ow any identification as a firefighter? >> no. >> just to follow-up. did you have identification with you? >> no. >> you were not on duty? >> no, sir. >> do you think it's protocol, is that what the defense is trying to get at? >> she did identify herself verbally, but there's no way to legitimately know she was an emt, and officers are trained in cpr as well, so i don't know what she would have added beyond what the officers would have been capable of doing had they chosen to do so but they didn't know her so that part of it -- i certainly understand a call for an ambulance which is protocol. >> always appreciate your insight. stay with us as we continue to look at some of the other headlines of the day. we are waiting any moment now on president biden headed to pittsburgh where he will pitch his $3 trillion jobs and infrastructure plan. the senate minority leader is calling it a trojan hoarrse. we will speak to one expert about how badly this may be needed. this is hal's heart. it's

defense attorney eric nelson tried to blame the crowd that gathered even though the people in that crowd were trying to get police to get off floyd's neck. even though derek chauvin stayed on his neck, stayed on his neck with the crowd yelling "let the man up." with him screaming "i can't breathe," 9 minutes, 29 seconds. that's how much time that was. >> there are cars stopping and people yelling. there is a growing crowd and officers perceive to be a threat. they're screaming at him. causing the officers to divert their attention to the threat that was growing in front of them. >> i thank you for your time. for those ten minutes you gave me your attention because that's about how long it has been since i started the open to this show. imagine that you are on the ground and your loved one on the ground for that long, already subdued by police. so the testimony is set to resume tomorrow. court was forced to adjourn when a technical glitch occurred. where family members were watching. the country the world is watching this trial just like we watched that horrible video of george floyd's la

eric nelson we heard tell the jury that george floyd consumed drugs and floyd fought back against theso much that the patrol car rocked back and forth with the force. what's your response with this image that the defense was trying to paint today? >> well, i call it the "made you look defense." what they're trying to do is distract the jury from what happened that night. listening to the defense attorney opening statement, i think his words are going to come back and haunt him. well, i would say this in response. the video is what common sense is all about. the video shows that this man, derek chauvin kneeled on george floyd's neck for nine minutes and 29 seconds, 43 seconds longer than what we all thought what it was. what's reasonable? you look at all those by stanst standers that were there. that's reasonable. that's what a reasonable person knew. many people knew that he was killing him. that's what happened. common sense and reasonableness tells you if you kneel on someone's neck and lock their neck in place against the city's street, you are going to kill them. that's what reaso

one other thing i would mention on the defense side, the attorney eric nelson has dealt with a lot of police cases in minneapolis, he's defended other officers. he opened his argument with reason and reasonable doubt and common sense. that's his focus. he only has to turn one of those jurors to find reasonable doubt here. his bar is different than the bar of the constitution. >> i just talked to a civil rights attorney about this. the way in which the defense is asking the jurors before them in this trial to disregard the broader social movement, the protests that have erupted around the world, the jurors might be able to do that, but we know people in the city of minneapolis might have a tougher time. can you talk to us about the mood on the ground, what are people feeling and doing today? what is it like there? >> it's tense around george floyd square, the area where this happened and there's been a visual that's been ongoing there and has grown. everybody is watching this trial closely. you have a lot of mixes of opinions, they want to reopen, they want life to move on, they ban an

now we haven't heard any plans of that from eric nelson, chauvi in t's attorney. for the judge to grant one. so still that is very hypothetical. fw but that is where any concern lies. outside of that, week two and three slated for jury selection is set to continue in just about -- in a few muinutes here. we're half way through the process. seven jurors selected of the 14 necessary including two alternates. what we don't know the identities, we do know a few things about them including their demographics. three white men in 20s and 30s, a black man in 30s, hispanic woman in her 20s, a bi-racial woman in her 30s and a white woman in her 50s. and despite all of the other things and all the factors that could have slowed this down including the readmission of a third degree murder charge, things do remain on schedule with opening statements set to begin march 29th. >> omar, thank you very much for all of that. quick break. we'll be right back. ♪ comfort in the extreme. the lincoln family of luxury suvs. >>> top of the hour. good morning, everyone. >> the race to vacci

when you could see the contentiousness back and forth between himself and the defense attorney eric nelson? well, you went to that audio only testimony, again because this witness was under 18 at the time of george floyd's death, only identified as darnella in court by prosecutors as they questioned her, and over the course of this, you got the sense that this was something that had a tremendous impact on her, something that she has held with her ever since that day, now a little bit over ten months ago and i want to play maybe the most emotional exchange that we have had over the course of this trial, where even though it's not on video you can see the impact that this moment has had on her all these months later. >> would you tell the ladies and gentlemen how your viewing, experiencing what happened to george floyd has affected your life? >> when i look at george floyd i look at -- i look at my dad. i look at my brothers. i look at my cousins, my uncles. because they are all black. i have black -- i have a black father, i have a black brother, i have black friends. and i look at that and

the end of this dramatic exchange that this off duty firefighter had with the defense attorney eric nelson. we heard the judge peter cahill, he was upset, he was angry at her. explain that. >> i think that you saw the witness become someone unravelled as the testimony went through. a lot of it has to do with the fact that this is very emotional. a lot of it has to do with the fact that the cross examination sometimes just gets on your nerves. but you begin to see that attend. and she was being impeached. she made a statement to law enforcement officers and her testimony wasn't consistent with that statement, which is why the defense attorney went up to the podium, asked did she want to read her statement. he asked her multiple times to go back and say what you stated to law enforcement, because it is not what you're testifying to in court. that's when you saw the combativeness, she was being impeached. she talked about the fact that it was very difficult seeing someone being murdered. she was there to talk about that law enforcement wouldn't let her give him care. the defense did a good jo

used what williams call the choke on george floyd but the tense exchange came as defense attorney eric nelson pressed that williams was getting emotional at the scene. >> he grew angrier and angrier. >> and over on cnn commentator van jones will not wait for testimony in the jury's decision, he says this is a time bomb and there must be a guilty verdict or else. >> if you can do this in broad daylight and not go to jail it will be perceived as open season telling police officers coast to coast you can literally get away with murder in broad daylight. >> very small number of demonstrators out today, one teacher chained herself to the fence but no distraction, no arrests. shannon: mike tobin continuing to cover the trial, thank you very much. coronavirus cases spiking, civil democrat run states in the northeast at the precipice of a fourth wave. the news comes as the governor of one of those states, andrew cuomo faces new scrutiny tonight of the claims his administration prioritized family and friends for covid testing which was hard to get in the early days of the pandemic. alexander has the l

eric nelson for the defense is questioning the witness on the stand james all right let's listen to change now as far as the clips that we saw you to agree that that's a shortened version of the entire piece of evidence that was gathered by the m.p.t. yes now in terms of the software keep abilities of the milestone camera. you're familiar with how that operates yes and you. would. agree that the software that runs the milestone is different than the software that was used to show that. yes ok. for purposes your honor if we could show the witness or even display it since the jury is not. even in terms this is what the player looks like for the milestone system correct and you are able to. go through this. you were able to scroll through the time that was saved yes the pink bar at the bottom with that indicate the time that were saved yes and the thing that happened prior to that where it's black or subsequent to that where it turns black. would be gone yes are now you can all this player also has some other capabilities such as zooming right yes so we can actually take this and move the cam

eric nelson is expected to argue his client was doing his job and used reasonable and authorized forcekneeling on floyd's neck. they're expected to point to previous training termaterials drugs found in george floyd's system. the judge, peter cahill, he was a former prosecutor, a public defender before being appointed to the bench in 2007. no need for me to say this, but enormous pressure on that judge. it was the judge who made the decision to live stream the proceedings saying because of covid very few would be allowed in the courtroom and this was the only way the families would be able to watch to hear the evidence presented along the wy. this means the country and the world will be able to watch this as it unfolds in that courtroom. this will play out on the 18th floor under very tight security given the tension surrounding this case. there are many covid restrictions in case. only one member of the floyd family and one member of the chauvin family will be allowed in the courtroom. there are two seats for reporters which will be rotated among a pool of reporters. there are 12 juro

here's the lead defence lawyer eric nelson and some of his opening statement. greater than nine minutes and 29 seconds. the evidence will show that mr floyd died of a cardiac arrhythmia that occurred as a result of hypertension, coronary disease, the ingestion of methamphetamine and fentanyl and the adrenaline flowing through his body. all of which acted to compromise an already compromised heart. let's get an assessment of what we've heard from nadine graves who's a defence lawyer in minnesota. i think the state through mr blackwell did a tremendous job painting a picture of what actually happened from that perspective, doing a great theory of their case and tugged on the emotion of the jurors who as stated earlier, some of them who have not seen the entirety of that video. i think the defence dropped the ball on painting a clear picture and tugging on the emotions and in a sense seemed to vilify mr floyd in how they are describing the cause of death. as i mentioned earlier there are three charges— second degree unintentional murder, third degree murder and se

chauvin's attorney eric nelson defended his client saying that george floyd was resisting arrest beforerrived on scene. and his other officer struggled to get floyd into the squad car, derek chauvin did exactly what he had been trained to do and that putting his knee on george floyd's neck had nothing to do with the cause of death. watch him. >> the evidence will show that when confronted by police, mr. floyd put drugs in his mouth in an effort to conceal them from the police. what was mr. floyd's actual cause of death? the evidence will show that mr. floyd died of a cardiac arrhythmia a occurred as a result of hypertension, his coronary disease, the ingestion of methamphetamine and fentanyl. >> trace: throughout the day derek chauvin calmly took note and occasionally looked up at the multiple video screens in court but the jurors intently scared at those screens. one even gasped during part of the video. there are 14 people in the jury box. 8 are white, six are black or multiracial. only 12 of them will deliberate and right now it's unclear which 12 the judge will eventually select. ra

. >> reporter: chauvin's attorney eric nelson also argued the surrounding crowd had an impact on chauvin'sior that day. >> they're screaming at him, causing the officers to divert their attention from the care of mr. floyd to the threat that was growing in front of them. >> reporter: in the end nelson says the only just result is not guilty. that's not how the family of george floyd feels who started the day kneeling in silent protest, representing the time derek chauvin's knee was on george floyd's neck. >> they can't sweep this under the rug. this is a starting point, this is not a finishing point. >> reporter: the starting point for prosecutors, the 911 operator who dispatched the officers on may 25, 2020. jenna scurry testified officers pinned floyd to the ground for so long she thought the realtime video she was watching froze and she alerted a sergeant to voice her concern with what was happening. >> my instincts were telling me that something is wrong. something is not right. i don't know what, but something wasn't right. >> reporter: while donald williams -- >> police is here. >> r

. >> reporter: chauvin's attorney eric nelson made clear this will also be a battle of exsigalerts this will ultimately be another significant battle in this trial. what was mr. floyd's actual cause of death? >> reporter: he wants the jury to look at the whole scene and listen to the use of force and medical experts as well as read the medical reports. >> that revealed mr. floyd had an exceptionally high level of carbon dioxide. dr. baker found none of what are referred to as the telltale signs of asphyxiation. there was no patichial hemorrhaging. there was no evidence that mr. floyd's air flow was restricted. >> reporter: instead, he suggested it was illicit drugs that aggravated a medical condition that took floyd's life. >> hypertension, his coronary disease, the ingestion of methamphetamine and fentanyl and the adrenaline flowing through his body, all of which acted to further compromise an already compromised heart. >> reporter: there was one thing the defense and prosecution did agree on. >> there is no political or social cause in this courtroom. >> reporter: but in the streets a

this on account of having the new charge added but we heard from the attorney for derek chauvin, eric nelsonspoken and i'm confident in the decisions this court has made and not seeking to restart this trial which is significant because that now clears the path to move forward with this day three of jury selection and keep things on track for opening statements to start on march 29th. >> omar, thank you for the reporting live there fr minneapolis. and thank you for being -- today. we'll see you back here tomorrow morning. i'm poppy harlow. >> and i'm jim sciutto. "newsroom" with kate bolduan starts right after a short break. if these beautiful idaho potato recipes are just side dishes, then i'm not a real idaho potato farmer. genuine idaho potatoes not just a side dish anymore. always look for the grown in idaho seal. are you managing your diabetes... ...using fingersticks? with the new freestyle libre 2 system, a continuous glucose monitor, you can check your glucose with a painless, one-second scan. and now with optional alarms, you can choose to be notified if you go too high or too low.

williams, you heard there, he is going back and forth with the defense attorney, eric nelson, about his knowledge of neck chokes, and he says what he witnessed that day was a blood show. we're going to have more on that in just a moment. we also have been hearing from several more witnesses who are minors or were minors on the day they witnessed george floyd's death, so we do not know their names and have not seen their faces as they were testifying earlier today. and as we await the presumption of the trial, let's break down what we just heard. joining me now, herschel brew stun in minneapolis, and also former senior fbi official and former u.s. attorney, chuck rosenberg. good to have you with us on the second day of the trial. joyce, you described donald williams as a devastating witness for the prosecution. explain that to us and what about that back and forth over the type of choke hold from the defense, the significance of that if you see any? >> well, this is the prosecution's case, so of course, you would expect the witnesses to be good, but mr. williams was particularly effectiv