By Bill Galluccio Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer charged with killing George Floyd, will not take the witness stand in his murder trial. After Chauvin affirmed his decision to invoke his Fifth Amendment right not to testify, his defense rested its case. Eric Nelson, Chauvin's lawyer, argued that Floyd died because of underlying health conditions and illegal drug use. The defense called seven witnesses to rebut the prosecution's claims that Floyd died as a result of asphyxia after being pinned down for over nine minutes by Chauvin. They also argued that Chauvin's actions were appropriate and that the crowd that gathered during the arrest distracted him.