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The defence team is now cross-examining police dispatcher Jena Scurry, asking detailed questions about what she saw and heard.

We're getting an almost minute-by-minute recounting of the moments before George Floyd died, from Scurry's perspective.

The defence attorney asks Scurry why she sent a backup squad car to the scene where Floyd had allegedly used a counterfeit $20 bill.

"I heard a loud... something in the background," Scurry says, from the officers calling.

Image source, Getty Images

As witness Jena Scurry is being cross-examined by the defence, here's a look at the key figures who will feature throughout the trial:

1) Derek Chauvin's lawyer Eric Nelson

• He is a Minnesota-based lawyer with a focus on defending clients in criminal cases
• He was appointed to Mr Chauvin's case by an association that provides legal services to Minnesota's police
• He has represented many police officers, often those involved in shootings
• One of his biggest cases involved the wife of a professional American football player, Amy Senser, who was jailed over the 2011 hit-and-run death of a chef

2) Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill

• He is an experienced judge with a track record of presiding over high-profile trials in Minnesota
• He has been described as a fair, bold and decisive judge
• He was appointed as a judge in 2007 and has been elected to the post three times since
• Before that, he was a prosecutor and a defence lawyer, serving as top advisor to Senator Amy Klobuchar when she was a county attorney

3) Attorney General Keith Ellison

• He was a defence lawyer and a politician before being elected as Minnesota's first African-American and Muslim attorney general in 2018
• He spent the early years of his legal career specialising in civil rights cases
• In Congress, as a representative for Minnesota, he was seen as a rising star of the Democratic party's progressive wing
• He took over the George Floyd case as special prosecutor in May 2020, at the request of the state's governor

4) The jury

• A jury of nine women and six men have been selected for the trial
• The jury includes six white women, three black men, two multi-racial women, three white men and one black woman
• Their names have been kept confidential and they won't be filmed during the trial
• Of those jurors, 12 will decide whether to convict or acquit Mr Chauvin of the charges against him

The court is back in session after a lunch break.

911 dispatcher Jena Scurry is back on the stand.

Jurors in this trial were intensely vetted by both the prosecution and defence and the questionnaire given to potential jurors has now been made public.

Here are some of the key questions:

• What do you know - any and all details - about this case from media reports?
• Have you ever watched video of George Floyd’s death on the news or the Internet?
• Have you ever talked about George Floyd’s death with your family, friends, or co-workers, or discussed it online, for example, on social media?
• Did you, or someone close to you, participate in any of the demonstrations or marches against police brutality that took place in Minneapolis after George Floyd’s death? If so, did you carry a sign?
• How favourable or unfavourable are you about Black Lives Matter (a racial justice movement) and/or Blue Lives Matter (a counter-movement supporting police)?

You can read the full list of questions here., external

Image source, Getty Images

We don't yet know the legal consequences of George Floyd's death while in police custody.

But we do know that his death has already affected changes. Here's a look at a few -

1. Changes to police departments

Police departments across the US made changes to their protocols. Minneapolis city council ordered the police department ban chokeholds and neck restraints. And in Louisville, unannounced police raids, known as "no-knock warrants" have been scrapped.

2. Street names changed

Black Lives Matter Plaza is now the name of the street in Washington, DC that leads up to the White House. The DC mayor reportedly changed the name in response to former President Trump's reactions to the protests.

3. Programmes taken off streaming platforms

TV shows that contain "racially insensitive" or inappropriate characters were removed from streaming services. Little Britain and Come Fly with Me were pulled from iPlayer and Netflix because of their use of black face.

The Mighty Boosh and The League of Gentleman were also removed from Netflix.

Find out what else has changed since Floyd died last May.

In the footage of George Floyd's death played by prosecutors, other officers were seen keeping bystanders back as Derek Chauvin knelt on Floyd's neck.

So what is happening to them?

The three other officers involved with Floyd’s death were J Alexander Kueng, Tou Thao and Thomas Lane. Each is facing two charges of aiding and abetting second-degree unintentional murder and manslaughter.

Their fates in part rest with Chauvin’s, for if prosecutors can’t convict Chauvin, the case against the other officers will become harder to prove as well.

The death of George Floyd, and African-American man, in police custody sparked protests across the US - and in the UK as well.

The BBC's Shamaan Freeman-Powell speaks to black British people to find out how the death affected them.

Samantha Granville
BBC News, Minneapolis

There’s nothing normal about Derek Chauvin’s trial.

It is being broadcast on television - a first in Minnesota state history - because of coronavirus safety precautions that prevent too many people from being in the courtroom and due to wide interest in the case.

If you walk in the front door and look to your right you would see jurors spaced about six feet apart. The normal jury box was replaced with office chairs and one-person desks.

Straight in front of you is where the judge sits, and he’s encased in plexiglass. To the left of the judge is the witness box, also in plexiglass.

On the left side of the room, there are multiple lawyers from each side. Only a few can fit in the courtroom because of Covid-19 restrictions.

In the back of the room, there are two journalists who are allowed to be there and cover the proceedings, with one camera broadcasting the trial to the world. The normal spectator gallery was also taken away.

This morning, notepads and pens were waiting for the jurors on their desks. There’s a large video monitor in front of the jury for all the media that will be played as evidence during the trial.

Image source, Getty Images

Lawyers on both sides have concluded their opening statements, and the prosecution called a first witness before lunch. Here's what the court has learned:

Prosecution

• Attorney Jerry Blackwell told the jury that Derek Chauvin "betrayed his badge" by kneeling on George Floyd's neck, using "excessive and unreasonable force" to detain him
• Chauvin's actions that day were not consistent with his police training, Blackwell said, and the officer's conduct "was a major cause in Floyd's death"
• Blackwell identified the "most important numbers" in the case: Nine minutes and 29 seconds. The prosecution will argue that is the amount of time that Chauvin knelt on Floyd's neck, causing him to go unconscious

Defence

• Lawyer Eric Nelson told the jury that this case is about the evidence, not about a "political or social cause" - a clear reference to the wave of demonstrations sparked by Floyd's death
• Pushing back on the prosecutions argument, Nelson says that the evidence "is far greater than nine minutes and 29 seconds"
• Some of this evidence, according to the defence, is that Floyd ingested drugs at the time of his arrest "in an effort to conceal them from police". Nelson suggests that the drugs in Floyd's system contributed to his death.
• And Nelson said that Chauvin kneeling on Floyd's neck followed a "struggle" between Floyd and the officers. Noting Floyd was over 6 feet tall, Nelson said the defence will argue that "three Minneapolis Police Department officers could not overcome the strength of Floyd"

The court has now adjourned for a lunch break, and the trial will resume in an hour.

Before the break, Chauvin's attorney claimed that the latest video entered into evidence is not the same evidence as what he had earlier been shown.

The state suggested that a shared drive be used for the sharing of future evidence.

New video evidence is being played in court now.

The video comes from a CCTV camera affixed on a building across the street from Cup Foods, and shows police arrive and scuffle with Floyd as he is placed inside a Minneapolis police squad car.

The video shows Floyd eventually emerging from the car, and being pinned down by officers. It was viewed by police dispatchers in real time.

As the video plays, 911 dispatcher Jena Scurry is describing to the court the parts of the video that she saw. She says her viewing was sporadic because she was busy dispatching police on calls.

"It was long enough that I was able to look back multiple times," she says when asked how long officers were seen sitting on Floyd.

"I first asked if the screens had frozen, because they had not changed," she said, adding that she became "concerned that something might be wrong".

She eventually called a sergeant supervisor to alert him to the ongoing conflict, where she informed him that "all of them [the responding officers] sat on this man, and I don't know if they needed to or not."

The brief call with the sergeant was played for the court.

"Sergeants are usually always notified for use of force," she told the court, adding that officers at the scene had not yet reported using force against Floyd. However, she said she personally had never made a call like this before.

The first witness to testify today was called for the prosecution.

Jena Scurry is a 911 dispatcher who deployed police to the Cup Foods shop in Minneapolis after George Floyd was reported for allegedly using a counterfeit $20 bill.

A camera fixed on the side of the building allowed her to watch the arrest unfold.

Prosecutors say that she called her sergeant to alert him to what was happening after she became alarmed by what she saw.

"As it was happening, I did not watch the whole time," she says of the video, explaining that she was busy dispatching police at the time.

Prosecutors are showing the video that Scurry was able to see.

Barbara Plett Usher
BBC News, Minneapolis

Former Minneapolis public defender Mary Moriarty told me that a typical defence in a case of excessive police force is the “split second decision” factor: that the officer had to make a split second decision to respond to an imminent threat, usually involving a shooting.

But that doesn’t hold in the Chauvin case, and the prosecutor, Jerry Blackwell made that clear in his opening remarks.

He stressed that the viral video of the arrest documented Chauvin with his knee on George Floyd’s neck for nine minutes and 29 seconds: “This case is not about split-second decision making. In nine minutes and 29 seconds, there are 479 seconds, not a split-second amount. That's what this case is about.”

Larry Madowo
BBC News, Minneapolis

Image source, Getty Images

Derek Chauvin’s lawyer Eric Nelson says the case is clearly about more than just nine minutes and 29 seconds in his opening statement.

The defence is trying to establish reasonable doubt in the case and undercut the prosecution’s argument that Floyd died because of Chauvin’s knee on his neck.

He also revealed that one of the defense’s witnesses will be an employee of Cup Foods where Floyd allegedly used a fake American currency.

The employee will reportedly say that he observed Floyd under the influence well before his encounter with Chauvin.

“The evidence will show that Mr Floyd died of a cardiac arrhythmia, that occurred as result of hypertension, coronary disease, the ingestion of methamphetamine and fentanyl, and adrenaline flowing through his body,” he told the court.

At George Floyd Square, people feel it’s an attempt to smear a man who was killed by police on video. Many in the city’s black community I’ve spoken to do not expect justice from the trial. They feel that police often get away with killing black men and this will be no different.

At the intersection of E 38th and Chicago streets, where the Floyd’s last moment was filmed, the community has turned it into a memorial and blocked the road.

“It’s a memorial site and a protest but first and foremost, it’s our neighbourhood,” activist Marcia Howard tells me.

“No justice, no streets,” she says.

Last May, George Floyd's death ignited protests the world over - prompting weeks of demonstrations and calls for racial justice.

Here's what those looked like.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Lawyers on both sides have said they'll focus on the facts. So here's a breakdown of how the night of George Floyd's death unfolded.

20:01 - The store’s teenage employee calls 911, after believing Floyd used a counterfeit bill. He says Floyd appears “drunk” and “not in control of himself”

20:08 - Two police officers arrive. Floyd is sitting in a car parked around the corner with two other people. Officer Thomas Lane approaches the car. Floyd appears to be co-operative at first. Lane asks Floyd to show his hands at least 10 times before ordering him out of the vehicle. Lane, gun drawn, then pulls Floyd out of the car, according to prosecutors.

A struggle between officers and Floyd ensues when they try to move him into a squad car.

20:14 - Floyd falls to the ground, telling the police he is “claustrophobic”. This is when Officer Derek Chauvin arrives on scene.20:19 - Chauvin pulls Floyd away from the car, and Floyd falls down. As Floyd lies face down, in handcuffs, Chauvin places his left knee between Floyd’s head and neck. For the over nine minutes, according to prosecutors, he keeps it there, even as Floyd says he cannot breathe.

20:27 - Chauvin removes his knee from Floyd’s neck. Floyd is motionless and moved onto a gurney.

Due to security measures, reporters have not been told who the first day's trial witness will be.

Prosecutors have said that they will call some of the bystanders to the arrest to testify, calling them the "bouquet of humanity" who witnessed the events leading to Floyd's death.

Jena Scurry, who called 911 as she watched Floyd's arrest, is the first witness called.

Scurry, who is a 911 police dispatcher and is wearing her uniform in court, is taking the stand now.

Jurors are now back in the courtroom and the case is ready to resume.

Tara McKelvey
BBC News, Minneapolis

Outside the courthouse, Hawa Bah, a certified nursing assistant, and Hassan Donzo, age three, made their way past barbed wire. Inside the wire, a Court TV van was parked next to a National Guard vehicle, a sign of the intense media interest in the case, and the security measures.

Bah was at the courthouse to pick up her marriage certificate, and said the security measures made her nervous.

She also spoke of the defence that Derek Chauvin’s lawyer’s are likely to use - that the use of force was necessary and reasonable - in a skeptical tone: “All I’m saying is, they shouldn’t use that type of force, on a person like that.”

Then she headed toward the fencing around the courthouse trying to see if someone would let her inside to pick up the marriage document.

Before the break, defence lawyer Eric Nelson previewed the weeks ahead for the jurors: "You will see the body cameras worn by police officers" .

"You will see the officers struggle with Mr Floyd, to get him out of the Mercedes Benz and place him in handcuffs," he continued.

"And you will hear everything that these officers and Mr Floyd said to each other," he added.

"You will see that, when confronted by the police, Mr Floyd put drugs in his mouth in an effort to conceal them from police," said Nelson.

He added that the officers asked Floyd several times what drugs he was on, and "Mr Floyd said nothing".

Later post-mortem examinations found that he had drugs in his system at the time of his arrest.