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1 year ago
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Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis cop serving 21 years for the death of George Floyd, has described his trial as a 'sham' in his first comments to the media.
The interview is part of The Fall of Minneapolis, a new documentary that re-examines Floyd's death, the prosecution of Chauvin and the way the world reacted to it.
Journalist Liz Collin produced the film to expose what she frames as a global rush to judgement in the case that was fueled by Democratic officials, and eventually led to the spread of crime across America.
She was vilified in 2020 while reporting on the riots after Floyd's death because she is married to the then chief of the police union.
Protesters gathered outside their home and many called for Collin, a veteran reporter, to be fired.
Ex-Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was sentenced to 22- and-a-half-years in prison for the murder of Floyd after pressing his knee against his neck for more than nine minutes
Her crowdfunded documentary gives weight to the suggestion that the FBI altered Floyd's autopsy to make it appear as though Chauvin had killed him by kneeling on his neck when it originally made no mention of any asphyxiation.
It also highlights multiple Minneapolis police officers who all say Chauvin was using a technique he'd been trained to use when he restrained Floyd, and accuses prosecutors of ignoring and overlooking evidence that would have exonerated Chauvin.
Chauvin speaks to Collin from prison over the phone. He says the trial and his sentencing are a 'sham', and that the ambulance took too long to respond to the incident.
In his phone interview with Collin, Chauvin also claims it was 'not normal' for the ambulance that eventually responded to the incident to take so long.
EMTs took 20 minutes to arrive, despite there being an ambulance bay just eight blocks away.
He repeatedly refers to the fact that he and other cops had been trained in MRT - Maximal Restraint Technique.
The documentary says cops were thrown to the wolves in 2020 when the city of Minneapolis descended into violent riots for days
Chauvin's mother also produces his training manuals in which include illustrations of police officers kneeling on a suspect's shoulder blade to restrain him.
He and other cops maintain that is what he did when he kneeled on Floyd for eight minutes and 46 seconds.
Chauvin recently had an appeal turned down by the Supreme Court.
In the videos the world saw, Chauvin has his knee on Floyd's neck.
Alex Chueng, one of the other officers involved who is also behind bars, urged viewers to watch the documentary and let it be a lesson.
'Prison is a very unique experience, one I never thought I'd see myself in.
'But it's very easy to get caught up in a lot of self-wallowing, a lot of whatever thoughts you have in your own head.
'This isn't the end and this won't define me. What's been done is done and I just hope that at the very least on the future people keep an open mind and not let instances like this happen.
'Just use my case as an example just use my case an example as to not jump the gun knee jerk, not fall to this race-bait, to the social media, to the media, and let them get away with what they do if things like this keep happening, no one anywhere is going to have any sense of justice left.'
Chauvin on Monday had an appeal to overturn his conviction turned down by the Supreme Court.
The justices did not comment in leaving in place state court rulings affirming Chauvin's conviction and 22-and-a-half year sentence.
Chauvin's lawyers argued that their client was denied a fair trial in 2021 because of pretrial publicity and concerns for violence in the event of an acquittal.
English (US)