An encounter at a convenience store set in motion the tragic events that would eventually lead to George Floyd’s death.
On Wednesday, jurors saw video surveillance footage from inside the store and heard from the clerk that confronted Floyd about a potentially counterfeit $20 bill.
A convenience store cashier who received a counterfeit $20 bill from George Floyd testified that he watched the Black man's arrest with “disbelief — and guilt.” Christopher Martin testified at the trial of former Minneapolis police office Derek Chauvin. https://t.co/s5riL8UHVB
— The Associated Press (@AP) March 31, 2021
The convenience store employee, 19 year-old Christopher Martin, testified that he and Floyd chatted about sports. He said Floyd appeared to be “high.” He also suspected that Floyd had used counterfeit money to buy a pack of cigarettes.
Under the store policy, Martin explained, employees had their paychecks docked if they accepted counterfeit bills. He said his manager encouraged him to confront Floyd, who had exited the store by then. Floyd was unwilling to return to the store to discuss the issue. Martin suggested that Floyd did not think he had used a counterfeit bill. Eventually, Martin said, somebody called the police.
Martin eventually witnessed Floyd’s arrest and death with what he described as “disbelief and guilt.” He added, “George was motionless, limp, and [defendant Derek] Chauvin seemed very — he was in a resting state, meaning like he just rested his knee on his neck.”
Martin expressed regret, saying “If I would’ve just not tooken the bill, this could’ve been avoided.”
His feelings of powerlessness echo the testimony of EMT and firefighter Genevieve Hansen, who told jurors on Tuesday that she was “was desperate to give help” when she randomly walked by Floyd and saw that he was struggling to breath. Hansen said police officers ignored her.
Later on Wednesday, witness Christopher Belfrey, 45, said he was “startled,” when he noticed that Floyd was being treated roughly by police, so he began taking video through his car’s windshield. Prosecutors played some of that video.
WATCH: New cell phone video from Christopher Belfrey, a Minneapolis resident who was parking his car on the street corner, shows the moments after George Floyd was pulled out of the car by officers: https://t.co/Bfa8QAAxOC #ChauvinTrialOnHLN pic.twitter.com/W5T7ucLgjp
— HLN (@HLNTV) March 31, 2021
Charles McMillian, another man who watched officers detain George Floyd, told jurors that he encouraged Floyd to cooperate with the police. “Because I’ve had interaction with officers myself, and I understand once you get in the car, you can’t win, you’re done. That’s the way I look at it,” he said.
When shown a video of Floyd’s arrest, McMillian broke down on the stand (watch above). “I feel helpless,” he said. The judge ordered a short recess for emotions to settle. Earlier in the day, a juror asked for a break after a “stress-related reaction.”
Almost everyone who has testified so far has choked up on the witness stand as they described watching George Floyd go unconscious and lose his pulse. https://t.co/U5oBt98sKy
— USA TODAY (@USATODAY) March 31, 2021
Towards the end of the day, the jury got their first look at footage from Chauvin’s body camera. It shows McMillian approaching Chauvin after Floyd was taken away in an ambulance. McMillian says, “I don’t respect what you did.”
Chauvin responds, “We got to control this guy because he’s a sizable guy, and it looks like he is probably on something.”
In previously unseen body-camera video, Derek Chauvin says George Floyd is a "sizable guy" and "looks like he's probably on something." #DerekChauvinTrial pic.twitter.com/DOM6vxEXyV
— Alpha News (@AlphaNewsMN) March 31, 2021
The two mentions today of Floyd’s drug use – via the body cam and from the testimony of the store clerk – were both introduced by prosecutors, suggesting that they are trying to head off one of the defense’s main arguments.