Defense Begins Its Case In Ex-Cop’s Murder Trial

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – The defense for a former Minneapolis police officer charged in George Floyd’s death started presenting its case on Tuesday. It follows 11 days of a prosecution narrative that combined wrenching video with clinical analysis by medical and use-of-force experts to condemn Derek Chauvin’s actions. Prosecutors called their final witnesses Monday, leaving only some administrative matters before they rested their case.  Now that the defense has taken over, Chauvin attorney Eric Nelson has brought his own experts in to testify that it was Floyd’s drug use and bad heart, not Chauvin’s actions, that killed him.  A use-of-force expert says the former officer was justified in pinning George Floyd to the ground because of his frantic resistance. The witness, Barry Brodd, testified for the defense, contradicting a parade of authorities from both inside and outside the Minneapolis police force.