*Donald Williams, an MMA fighter who is trained in chokeholds, was called as a witness by the state Monday during first day of testimony in the George Floyd murder trial, and is expected to return to the stand Tuesday when court resumes at 9:30 a.m. CT. Williams, 33, was among the bystanders who watched in horror and outrage as former police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on Floyd’s neck for 9 minutes and 26 seconds.
Williams told jurors he saw Chauvin use a “blood choke” on the unarmed Black man. The former college wrestler who studies mixed martial arts and works in private security, said he watched in horror as Chauvin allegedly “shimmied” his body back and forth to increase the pressure on Floyd’s neck and cut off his circulation.
As the prosecution played video of Floyd’s final moments, Williams provided his thoughts at the time, saying the more Chauvin shimmied, “the more you see Floyd fade away, slowly fade away, like a fish in a bag.”
“You see his eyes slowly, you know, pale out,” Williams continued, looking at the video. “His eyes slowly rolled to the back of his head. You see blood coming out of his nose.”
“I felt the officer on top was shimmying to get the final choke in,” he said, “to get the kill choke.”
Chauvin’s defense objected to Williams’s “conclusion,” and Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill instructed jurors to “disregard” the statement.
Williams recalled making eye contact with Chauvin at the exact moment he yelled at the officer about applying the “blood choke.”
“George wants to turn his face the other way to release the pressure, but he can’t,” Williams testified before the defense objected and the judge asked jurors to step into an adjoining room. Cahill told Williams there was a limit to “how far your expertise can go” and then excused the jury for the day after learning the internet feed to a room where Floyd’s relatives were watching the proceedings had gone down .
Williams is due back on the stand Tuesday.
Chauvin, 45, is facing charges of second-degree murder, third degree murder and manslaughter. If convicted of the top charge, he faces up to 40 years in prison. The former cop who spent 19 years on the force has pleaded not guilty, with his defense making the argument Monday that Floyd died from an accidental drug overdose linked to drug use and heart problems.
Watch his testimony below:
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