Army preparing to approve DC request for National Guard ahead of verdict in Derek Chauvin trial msn.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from msn.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
With the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin now in deliberations, members of the Minnesota National Guard are deployed in the Twin Cities to protect people, property and the First Amendment right of protesters, a National Guard spokesperson tells CNN.
On Monday closing arguments will be heard in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin
Swathes of the city have been boarded up in anticipation of a contentious verdict and barriers erected
Under Operation Safety Net 3,000 National Guard and 1,100 public safety officers have been brought in
Public schools in the city will close their classrooms and return to remote tuition from Wednesday
Some business owners in the city feel the militarization is excessive, but others welcome the show of force
Prosecutor Steve Schleicher delivered the state s closing statement in Derek Chauvin s trial on Monday
He asked the jury to consider one question: Would George Floyd have died were it not for Chauvin s restraint?
He discounted the myriad of factors the defense presented as contributing causes of Floyd s death, including his drug use and heart problems
Schleicher also refuted the defense suggestion that Floyd had superhuman strength during his arrest because he was suffering from excited delirium There is no such thing as super human, that exists in comic books, the prosecutor said
He also showed new photos of the injuries Floyd suffered when he was pinned down
George Floyd is dead is because Mr Chauvin’s heart was too small : Prosecution rebuttal blasts defense s closing statement that kneeling on his neck WAS the reasonable action for a cop as jury retires and Minneapolis braces for protests
Trial attorney Jerry Blackwell concluded the state s case against Derek Chauvin on Monday by telling the jury: The reason George Floyd is dead is because Mr Chauvin s heart was too small
The jury was dismissed for deliberation before Chauvin s attorney Eric Nelson called for a mistrial
Nelson took issue with Blackwell s characterization of the defense s case as nonsense and a story - as well as the possibility that media attention could bias the jury