‘Resting comfortably’: Expert justifies pinning of George Floyd

Defence begins presenting its case following 11 days of testimony and a mountain of video evidence.

Derek Chauvin, the former police officer charged with the murder of George Floyd, was justified in pinning down the Black man who kept struggling instead of “resting comfortably” on the ground, according to a use-of-force expert called by the defence in the United States. Chauvin, 45, is accused of killing Floyd by pinning his knee on the 46-year-old Black man’s neck for nine minutes and 29 seconds as he lay face-down in handcuffs. Floyd had been accused of passing a counterfeit $20 bill at a neighbourhood market. Taking the stand on Tuesday at Chauvin’s murder trial, Barry Brodd, a former Santa Rosa, California officer, stoutly defended Chauvin’s actions, even as a prosecutor pounded away at the witness, banging the lectern at one point during cross-examination and growing incredulous over Brodd’s use of the “resting comfortably” phrase.