Last June, almost a month after George Floyd’s death, the head of the Minneapolis Police Department issued a forceful statement about the officers involved in Floyd’s arrest.
Chief Medaria Arradondo, the first black man to take office, described Floyd’s death as “tragic” and said “it was not for lack of training”.
“That was murder – it was not a lack of training,” said Arradondo, adding that that was why he “acted quickly” and fired the four officers involved in the incident the day after Floyd’s death.
“The cops knew what was going on – one caused it intentionally, and the others couldn’t help it,” said Arradondo in June.
On Monday – this time from the witness stand – Arradondo once again rebuked Derek Chauvin, the former police officer who prosecutors said had kneeled on Floyd’s neck for 9 minutes and 29 seconds. It was a rare case of a police chief testifying against a police officer. (Arradondo also testified at the trial of Mohamed Noor, a former police officer who was convicted of the murder of Justine Damond in 2017.)
Chauvin is on trial on charges of second and third degree murder and wrongful death. The three other officers who responded to the scene and were fired – J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao – are accused of assisting and inciting second-degree murder and manslaughter. They are due to be tried in August.
Prosecutor Steve Schleicher asked Arradondo if he believed when Chauvin’s restriction on Floyd should have ended, including kneeling on his neck.
“Once Mr. Floyd stopped resisting, and certainly since he was in danger and trying to verbalize it, it should have stopped,” replied Arradondo.
“There is an initial reasonableness in trying to just get it under control in the first few seconds,” said Arradondo. “But once there was no more resistance, and clearly when Mr. Floyd was no longer responsive and even immobile, continue to apply that level of force to a person leaning out, handcuffed on the back, who in no way, form or form is anything that is by policy. It is not part of our training and certainly not part of our ethics or values. “
The prosecution said Floyd died because Chauvin knelt on his neck. The defense said Floyd’s death was caused by an overdose, underlying health problems and adrenaline.
During his testimony, Arradondo explained departmental policy on when deceleration strength and tactics are needed. He said Chauvin had failed to follow policies of deceleration, use of force and the duty to provide help to people who needed it when he knelt on Floyd’s neck for more than 9 minutes. Floyd, who was black, was recorded in a video widely seen by a viewer repeatedly telling Chauvin, who is white, that he was unable to breathe.
“We have a duty to care, and therefore, when someone is in our custody, regardless of being a suspect, we have an obligation to take care of their care,” said Arradondo.
Prosecutors said that when Chauvin restrained Floyd, he violated a number of departmental policies in which he had been trained.
Police were called to Cup Foods, a convenience store, on May 25, after a cashier suspected that Floyd had used a fake $ 20 bill to buy cigarettes. Arradondo said on Monday that the crime that Floyd allegedly committed would not result in anyone being arrested. Prisons, he said, are usually reserved for violent crimes. The statement questioned the use of force by officials. The video from the police body camera displayed in court last week showed that Lane initially approached Floyd with his gun drawn.
Arradondo was asked whether Proof 17 – a photo from the video of a spectator showing Chauvin looking at others while kneeling over an apparently distressed Floyd – was within police department policy 5-300, authorizing the use of reasonable force, and whether Chauvin had used an authorized neck restraint.
“A conscious neck restraint by policy mentions mild to moderate pressure,” he said. “When I look at Annex 17, and when I look at Mr. Floyd’s facial expression, it doesn’t appear in any way, shape or form that is mild to moderate pressure.”
Arradondo was also asked by Schleicher if Chauvin followed department 5-304’s policy on scaling down, Arradondo said, “I absolutely don’t agree with that.”
Arradondo’s testimony was followed by that of the 5th district inspector, Katie Blackwell. At the time of Floyd’s death, Blackwell was the commander of the training division.
Blackwell saw the same photo from a video that depicts Chauvin kneeling on Floyd’s neck. She also said that the restriction, as represented, violated departmental policies and that neck restrictions were not taught.
“I don’t know what kind of improvised position this is,” Blackwell testified. “So this is not what we train for.”
Blackwell testified that she has known Chauvin for about 20 years.
Prosecutor Jerry Blackwell’s opening statement last week predicted the testimony of Arradondo and Blackwell.
“He won’t measure words,” said Blackwell of Arradondo. “He is very clear. He would be very determined that it was excessive force.”
Blackwell said Arradondo would testify that “Chauvin’s conduct was not consistent” with police department training and policies.
Under interrogation, Chauvin’s lawyer, Eric Nelson, asked Arradondo when it was the last time he arrested a suspect. Arradondo said that “many years have passed.”
Nelson also revised a statement he made in his opening statement that the crowd of onlookers who watched Floyd’s arrest – some of whom cursed the police and many shouted at Chauvin to leave Floyd – undermined Chauvin’s ability to help.
Arradondo agreed with Nelson that force is sometimes necessary. He told Schleicher that the training has improved a lot since he joined the force more than 30 years ago.
In his June statement, Arradondo said that one of the officers at the scene told Chauvin that Floyd should be put in a recovery position, that is, turned on his side.
Arradondo and Blackwell testified on Monday that it is important not to keep people handcuffed to their stomachs for too long, because lying down can make breathing difficult.
Arradondo testified that he learned of the incident around 9 pm on May 25 from a deputy chief, before Floyd was pronounced dead. After learning that Floyd had died, he went to his City Hall office, where he saw the city-operated street camera, which had no audio and was further away. He said he could only see the police’s back, so he did not fully assess what had happened.
Not long after that, he said, he heard about the video viewer of Floyd’s final moments that had been posted on Facebook.
“Around midnight, a community member contacted me and said, ‘Boss, did you see the video of your policeman strangling and killing that man on 38th Street with Chicago?’” Said Arradondo. “And as soon as I heard that statement, I just knew it wasn’t the same video from the landmark camera that I saw.”
In minutes, he said, “I first saw what is now known as the video viewer.”