*History may have been made Monday when a police chief took the stand and testified against one of his former officers.
Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo testified that Derek Chauvin’s knee on the neck of George Floyd “absolutely” violated department policy.
“Once there was no longer any resistance, and clearly when Mr. Floyd was no longer responsive and even motionless, to continue to apply that level of force to in person, proned out, handcuffed behind their back, that in no way shape or form is anything that is by policy, is not part of our training, and it is certainly not part of our ethics,” Arrandondo said in testimony to prosecutor Steve Schleicher.
Asked if he believed that Chauvin kneeling on Floyd’s neck for an extended period of time followed the department’s de-escalation policy, Arradondo, who like Floyd is Black, responded, “I absolutely do not.”
Arradando said he believed Chauvin was trying to employ a conscious neck restraint, which, according to the department’s policy, involves using light to moderate pressure on a person who is actively resisting police. But, he said Floyd didn’t appear to be actively or passively resisting during the arrest.
“I didn’t even know if Mr. Floyd was alive,” Arradando said.
Chauvin is facing murder charges in the trial for Floyd’s killing, which spurred a nationwide reckoning with police tactics and racial justice in the summer of 2020.
Watch a clip of Arradando’s testimony from Monday below:
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