A nine-year-old witness testified on March 30, in the trial of former Minneapolis Police officer, Dereck Chauvin charged with the murder of George Floyd.
According to The Hill, the witness accounted that she was there the day that George Floyd was attacked and saw first-hand when Chauvin held his knee on Floyd’s neck to the ground for nearly nine minutes. She heard medics tell the officer to remove his knee, but he refused until they asked for a second time.
When testifying, the witness stated that she was buying snacks with her cousin Darnella Frazier the day of the incident, and happened to see what occurred.
Frazier who testified at an earlier date, also witnessed Floyd being pinned on the ground by the officer and was the person responsible for recording a video of it, which later went viral.
The nine-year-old witness that remains unidentified due to her young age, was asked to identify the officer who she saw in the altercation with Floyd. After removing his face covering, she was able to identify and confirm Chauvin as the officer she saw that day.
Prosecutor Jerry Blackwell asked the girl how it felt to witness the incident, that to which she responded
“I was sad and kind of mad.”
“It felt like he was stopping his breathing and it was kind of hurting him,” she added according to Revolt.
Prosecutor Jerry Blackwell asks 9-year-old witness (too young to be broadcast) how it affected her to see Derek Chauvin on top of George Floyd.
She says: “I was sad and kinda mad … it felt like he was stopping his breathing and it was kinda hurting him.” pic.twitter.com/NXLKnfMIhk
— The Recount (@therecount) March 30, 2021
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Chauvin faces three criminal counts in connection to the death of Floyd: second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter.
Frazier, who testified on the second day of Chauvin’s trial said then that the events of that day changed her life.
She also expresses an apology for not having done more that day.
“When I look at George Floyd, I look at my dad, I look at my brothers, I look at my cousins, my uncles because they are all Black. I have a Black father. I have a Black brother. I have Black friends. And I look at that, and I look at how that could have been one of them.”
