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Witnesses who testified in Derek Chauvin trial speak out on tough, emotional court experiences
Two witnesses for the prosecution in the trial of fired Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin described their experiences on the witness stand as emotional. Charles McMillian and Donald Williams, who both witnessed George Floyd s fatal arrest, spoke with CBS This Morning co-host Gayle King Wednesday, a day after Chauvin was convicted of murder and manslaughter.
McMillian described why he broke down crying in court, and he told King Floyd s cries for his mother as he was dying touched him. It s come from me losing my mom prior to this, McMillian said. What happened with George and to hear George cry out for his mom, and mama couldn t help him. It made me just helpless because I don t have a mom either, and that s what broke me was, mama.
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Break dancers perform for people gathered in George Flyod Square for an AAPI and Black solidarity rally on Sunday in Minneapolis.
(Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times)
Etheridge, who like Howard is Black, doesn’t go to the site often. She remains thankful she was nowhere in sight on May 25, 2020, the day that Floyd was killed. She thinks she would have tried to tackle the officer, who is white.
“I’d probably be dead, in the hospital or in jail,” Etheridge said.
A permanent memorial would be an important tribute, she thinks.
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“It would be helpful because it was a life,” she said. “People seen it. It was almost like something that was done to us.”
Prosecutor: Chauvin s knee on Floyd was grinding and crushing | Black Lives Matter News aljazeera.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from aljazeera.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The place where George Floyd died is a now sacred space and a battleground
Updated 9:14 AM ET, Sun March 14, 2021
Minneapolis (CNN)First you see the barricades traffic cones, graffitied concrete Jersey barriers and a metal frame that resembles a bike rack.
Then there s the makeshift guard shack, with so-called community Guardians inside, regulating the comings and goings on the streets.
Finally, a poster declares Welcome.
The city first put in the concrete barriers, but then residents and activists added more obstacles and started to control the area.
Beyond the barricades, past the guard hut, at the intersection of Chicago Avenue and 38th Street in Minneapolis is the patch of ground where George Floyd took some of his last breaths as a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for several excruciating minutes, even after Floyd s body went limp.