Emotional first day at Derek Chauvin murder trial includes blunt witness testimony, new video footage

Prosecutor Jerry W. Blackwell began his opening statement by drawing a line from the actions prosecutors say Chauvin intentionally took when detaining Floyd to his death. He also showed the jury the video and said bystanders and police officers would be put on the stand to support the case. The defense argued that it was not Chauvin’s knee but drugs and a host of surrounding conditions that were responsible for Floyd’s death.

After a lunch break, prosecutors called Jena Scurry to the stand to help establish how other trained first responders saw Chauvin’s actions against Floyd — kneeling on his neck for more than nine minutes — as alarming and unusual, seeking to undercut the defense’s opening remarks that characterized them as consistent with Chauvin’s police training.

Floyd’s family members gathered outside the courthouse shortly before opening statements to demand accountability. Floyd’s nephew Brandon Williams told the crowd that either Chauvin and the other officers were not “trained and qualified to do their job, or they intended to take his life.”

A judge allowed details of a 2019 traffic stop of Floyd to be brought up during trial, a victory for the defense.

The 12 jurors and two alternates are a mix of men and women and Black, multiracial and White people. Seven are under 40 years old. A third alternate was sent home Monday morning.

Here are answers to frequently asked questions about the circumstance around Floyd’s killing and the trial.