Prosecutors say Chauvin had his knee of Floyd's neck for more than nine minutesImage caption: Prosecutors say Chauvin had his knee of Floyd's neck for more than nine minutes
Chauvin has been charged with second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.
1) Second-degree murder
This is the most serious charge. It will require prosecutors to prove that Chauvin was assaulting Floyd when he caused his death. Chauvin could face up to 40 years in jail if convicted on this count.
2) Third-degree murder
To convict on this charge, the jury must be convinced that Chauvin showed a reckless disregard for human life. The charge carries a maximum sentence of 25 years.
3) Second-degree manslaughter
For the final charge, prosecutors will try to demonstrate that Chauvin took an “unreasonable risk” when he restrained Floyd, putting him at risk of death or serious harm.
With the manslaughter charge, prosecutors do not need prove Chauvin actually caused Floyd’s death. Someone found guilty of this charge may be sentenced to up to 10 years in jail.
Here's what's to come
Judge Cahill closes the day with an updated timeline for the trial.
Chauvin's defence will be heard from Tuesday
He expects all the evidence to be heard by the end of the week, possibly Thursday
Closing arguments will be made on Monday
He tells the jury they'll be sequestered - or isolated to avoid exposure to possibly prejudicial material - after closing arguments have been heard.
"Pack a bag," he tells the jurors.
And with that, he adjourns the court until 09:00 local time tomorrow.
What happened today?
Today marked the start of the third week of Derek Chauvin's trial. After two week's of hearing from the prosecution, the Chauvin's defence team will begin tomorrow.
Here's a quick recap of the highlights from today:
Dr Jonathan Rich, an experienced cardiologist, testified that George Floyd did not die from a heart attack or a drug overdose
Rich added that Floyd's heart was "exceptionally strong" and showed no evidence of a previous or oncoming heart attack
Philonise Floyd, the younger brother of George Floyd, tearfully recalled their childhood and George's love for his mother
Criminal law expert Seth Stoughton told the court that the force used by the officers who arrested Floyd was "unreasonable, excessive and contrary to generally accepted police practice", as was their decision not to provide him with medical assistance
Separately, in a suburb just 10 miles (16 km) away from the courtroom, tensions are high after the recent fatal police shooting of a 20-year-old black man.
We've talked a lot about the prosecution and the defence. But who are they?
The prosecution is being brought by the state of Minnesota and arguing the case against former officer Derek Chauvin.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison is leading the state's prosecution, but he has yet to speak in court during the trial. Jerry Blackwell and Matthew Frank are among the prosecutors to have questioned witnesses.
The defence represents Chauvin. Eric Nelson, a lawyer who has represented police officers in the past, has been the only lawyer to speak on behalf of Chauvin so far. There are nearly a dozen other lawyers working behind the scenes, but none have so far appeared in court.
You can watch part of Blackwell's opening statement below:
Video content
Video caption: George Floyd opening statement: Derek Chauvin 'betrayed badge'George Floyd opening statement: Derek Chauvin 'betrayed badge'
Cinder blocks, fences and rows of law enforcers
Tara McKelvey
BBC News, Brooklyn Center, Minnesota
BBCCopyright: BBC
Dozens of officers - local police, state police and members of the National Guard, are lined up in front of the police department here in Brooklyn Center. On Sunday, a young black man was shot and killed by local police, sparking unrest in the Minneapolis suburb.
Standing in the grass, I watch one woman, Patience Chowoe, a 36-year-old health care worker, walk straight up to the men.
First, she tries to find common ground, telling them they went to high school together: "You probably had a crush on me," she says to one. (He shakes his head, no, when I ask him if he did.).
The other men stare straight ahead.
After a while, her voice goes up: "I just want you to know that when you pull me over, look at me as a woman," she tells them. "When you pull us over, we want to have a conversation."
The conversation, as she admits to me, is "one-sided". She and the other protestors are shouting, the police stand silently, and several yards away, workers are putting up more fences in front of the police department, getting ready for the night.
BBCCopyright: BBC
The courtroom in sketches
Cameras are not normally permitted in federal courtrooms, which is why sketches of court proceedings are so common in high-profile US trials.
This time, due to Covid restrictions, the court sketch artist assigned to the Chauvin case is forced to watch from a video feed, much like the rest of us.
Here's a look at the moments captured in sketches so far.
Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images
Footage taken from the officer's body-worn cameraImage caption: Footage taken from the officer's body-worn camera
Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images
Chauvin, seen without his facemaskImage caption: Chauvin, seen without his facemask
Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images
Defence lawyer Eric Nelson questions a police witnessImage caption: Defence lawyer Eric Nelson questions a police witness
Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images
Chauvin has been seen writing extensive notes throughout the trialImage caption: Chauvin has been seen writing extensive notes throughout the trial
Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images
Courtney Ross, Floyd's girlfriend, cried as she described their relationshipImage caption: Courtney Ross, Floyd's girlfriend, cried as she described their relationship
Witness cracks joke about his kids
As Nelson attempts to suggest ex-officer Chauvin was distracted by what he called a "crowd" of bystanders during his arrest of Floyd, he asks Stoughton a question about his methodology.
"When you do your use-of-force analysis, you're not doing it in a dangerous environment I presume?"
Stoughton's answer produces one of the lighter moment's of today's testimony.
"Without making any jokes about my kids, no. I'm not generally doing it in a dangerous situation," he says.
The defence has now concluded their cross-examination of Stoughton.
'The knee should not have been on the neck'
Nelson asks Stoughton about an opinion piece he wrote for The Washington Post about the death of Floyd a few days after the incident in May 2020.
Nelson suggests that, in that article, Stoughton had “already formed that opinion that it was an unreasonable use of force”, before seeing more evidence.
In response, Stoughton says: “I think it’s fair to say that I formed the opinion that putting your knee across someone’s neck - except in unbelievable rare circumstances - is generally an inappropriate use of force."
“As I reviewed the materials in this case, some of the opinions I discussed in that op-ed changed and this was not one of them.”
Nelson then asks Stoughton if he thinks Chauvin’s knee was on Floyd’s neck for nine minutes and 26 seconds.
“In my perspective that’s irrelevant,” he says. “The knee should not have been on the neck.”
Security stepped up ahead of emergency curfews
EPACopyright: EPA
Turning away from the trial for a moment, here's a look at the streets of Brooklyn Center, just miles away from the courtroom in Minneapolis.
Protests in this suburb erupted on Sunday after a 20-year-old black man was shot and killed by police during a traffic stop. Police say an officer mistakenly used her gun instead of a Taser during the encounter.
Stood in formation wearing riot gear, security forces have been deployed to protect the Brooklyn Center Police Department, which was the scene of unrest last night.
EPACopyright: EPA
As we reported earlier, authorities have declared a state of emergency in Minneapolis, the state's largest city.
A curfew will be enforced between 19:00 on Monday and 06:00 on Tuesday.
The curfew will also be enforced in the twin city of St Paul and surrounding communities including Brooklyn Center.
The mood in the city has been tense since the trial of Derek Chauvin over the death of George Floyd began two weeks ago.
EPACopyright: EPA
Police release video of Daunte Wright shooting
Earlier today, police in the Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Center released footage from the camera worn by the officer who shot 20-year-old Daunte Wright during a traffic stop last night.
Warning: The video clip below contains disturbing scenes.
Video content
Video caption: Daunte Wright: New bodycam footage shows arrest and shootingDaunte Wright: New bodycam footage shows arrest and shooting
Defence questions evaluating use of force 'after the fact'
The defence is now cross-examining Seth Stoughton.
Lead defence attorney Eric Nelson says use of force cannot be evaluated from "just 14 ten-second clips" but must look at "the totality of the circumstances".
He notes that a situation should not be viewed through the "20/20 lens of hindsight".
Stoughton responds that this "doesn't mean we can't evaluate an officer's use of force after the fact" because it is possible to conclude how a reasonable officer should have absorbed the information in a given situation.
"Officers generally rely on their training," he says, but it's important to look at whether they follow "the professional norms we expect" from a reasonable officer.
Watching the trial, and the police
Tara McKelvey
BBC News, Brooklyn Center, Minnesota
BBCCopyright: BBC
Officers in riot gear are standing guard outside the police stationImage caption: Officers in riot gear are standing guard outside the police station
There is a wall of dark blue outside the police department here in Brooklyn Center.
Officers are lined up, facing a woman wearing a lilac jacket and a knit cap, and a small number of other demonstrators, who are stood in the rain, protesting the police.
In the background, you can hear demonstrators playing a livestream of the trial of Chauvin, which is now unfolding about 16 km (10 miles) from here.
It is a dramatic display of how the city has changed over the past year or so, with millions of people here and elsewhere rising up against the police.
At the same time, as many here are saying, things have remained the same, with another black resident, Daunte Wright, shot and killed by police.
'Unreasonable, excessive and contrary to accepted practice'
The witness says that, although George Floyd was a large man who was clearly impaired, a knee on his neck would never have been necessary.
"The sanctity of human life is the highest priority in policing," says legal expert and former officer Seth Stoughton.
He says "the duty to assist and render aid" whenever possible is a secondary priority.
Bystanders' pleas to check Floyd's pulse and Floyd's own increasingly desperate calls for help should have tipped off the officers that he was in medical distress, according to Stoughton.
"Both the knee across the neck and the prone restraint were unreasonable, excessive and contrary to generally accepted police practices," he says, noting this use of force had a "substantial likelihood of resulting in death or bodily harm".
"The failure to render aid to Mr Floyd was unreasonable and contrary to generally accepted police practices."
'Bystanders did not present a threat to the officers'
The defence has argued that the crowd of bystanders created a distraction for the officers and did not allow them to do their jobs properly.
Witness Seth Stoughton - a legal professor and a former officer - says that the noises bystanders were creating were not much more than "normal road traffic" during most of the arrest, until after Floyd had passed out.
He also adds the facts and circumstances suggest "they did not present a threat to the officers".
He notes that Tou Thao, the officer who asked bystanders to stand back, remarked: "This is why you don't do drugs, kids."
'Trying times' in a 'powder keg' of a city
Tara McKelvey
BBC News, Minneapolis
BBCCopyright: BBC
Rich Stanek is a former police officerImage caption: Rich Stanek is a former police officer
Former officer Rich Stanek, who also served as the sheriff in Hennepin County, home to the city of Minneapolis, says that it was hard to see images of violence, outside of the police department in Brooklyn Center.
"They were throwing bottles, rocks," he says, describing the protestors. He says that some of the officers, his former colleagues, were injured.
Still, the protests against the police seemed inevitable: the city has been like a "powder keg" during the weeks of the trial, he explains.
The shooting of Daunte Wright was yet another tragedy, and people were understandably angry. He says many residents of the city have turned against the police, though some still stand behind them.
"The community is separated between those that like and those that dislike," he tells me, describing how locals see the police force.
"It makes for trying times."
Has policing changed since Floyd's death?
The court is back from a brief recess. As prosecutors continue to play clips from Floyd's arrest, let's take a step out of the courtroom for a moment and look back to last year.
Footage of Floyd's death went viral last May, and protests erupted worldwide. Calls for police reform were widespread.
But has anything actually changed?
We examined some of the ways in which US policing changed in the weeks after Floyd's death. Check out the video below.
Video content
Video caption: George Floyd protests: Have the police changed?George Floyd protests: Have the police changed?
'Someone passing out is not a threat'
"Someone that's passing out is obviously not a threat," prosecutorial expert witness Seth Stoughton said just before the break.
His testimony cuts into the defence's argument that hostile suspects can sometimes wake up and continue a violent attack.
During questioning, Chauvin's lawyer Eric Nelson asked a former MMA fighter to witnessed Floyd's arrest and Minneapolis police investigator about whether they had ever seen this happening.
Both had answered that it is possible but rare.
Testimony paused for a break
"This would be an opportune time for a break," prosecuting lawyer Schleicher says, mid-way through questioning.
And with that, Judge Cahill tells the jury to take a 20 minute break.
The trial will continue soon.
Minneapolis mayor imposes emergency curfews
Mayor of Minneapolis Jacob Frey says he is declaring a state of emergency in response to the unrest following the killing of a young black man by police on Sunday.
He said a curfew would be imposed between 19:00 and 06:00 in the city and surrounding areas.
"The anguish we are suffering cannot translate into violence," the mayor said at a news conference.
"We don't have to keep having these press conferences," he said.
"This state, this community and this nation need to have a place to grieve and to express - in many places - their anger that this continues to go on."
Walz said those who "try to take advantage of this to create chaos" would "not be tolerated".
Floyd said 'I can't breathe' 27 times - witness
"Two things stand out: You hear Mr Floyd say I cant breathe," says Stoughton of the latest clip, which shows Floyd restrained on the street.
Problems breathing are a symptom of positional asphyxia, he says, adding that this was caused by the officers placing Floyd on the ground and putting pressure on his back and neck.
Drug or alcohol intoxication can also play a role, he notes, adding that police at the scene believed Floyd to be intoxicated at the time.
"You hear an officer saying he's passing out - that again indicates an increasing level of medical distress."
Stoughton says: "Before he fell silent, Mr Floyd said - by my count - 'I can't breathe' at least 27 times."
Live Reporting
All times stated are UK
What has Chauvin been charged with?
Chauvin has been charged with second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.
1) Second-degree murder
This is the most serious charge. It will require prosecutors to prove that Chauvin was assaulting Floyd when he caused his death. Chauvin could face up to 40 years in jail if convicted on this count.
2) Third-degree murder
To convict on this charge, the jury must be convinced that Chauvin showed a reckless disregard for human life. The charge carries a maximum sentence of 25 years.
3) Second-degree manslaughter
For the final charge, prosecutors will try to demonstrate that Chauvin took an “unreasonable risk” when he restrained Floyd, putting him at risk of death or serious harm.
With the manslaughter charge, prosecutors do not need prove Chauvin actually caused Floyd’s death. Someone found guilty of this charge may be sentenced to up to 10 years in jail.
Here's what's to come
Judge Cahill closes the day with an updated timeline for the trial.
He tells the jury they'll be sequestered - or isolated to avoid exposure to possibly prejudicial material - after closing arguments have been heard.
"Pack a bag," he tells the jurors.
And with that, he adjourns the court until 09:00 local time tomorrow.
What happened today?
Today marked the start of the third week of Derek Chauvin's trial. After two week's of hearing from the prosecution, the Chauvin's defence team will begin tomorrow.
Here's a quick recap of the highlights from today:
Separately, in a suburb just 10 miles (16 km) away from the courtroom, tensions are high after the recent fatal police shooting of a 20-year-old black man.
At a news conference earlier today, officials said the police officer accidentally discharged her Taser instead of her gun, killing Daunte Wright on the scene in the city of Brooklyn Center.
The prosecution and the defence - explained
We've talked a lot about the prosecution and the defence. But who are they?
The prosecution is being brought by the state of Minnesota and arguing the case against former officer Derek Chauvin.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison is leading the state's prosecution, but he has yet to speak in court during the trial. Jerry Blackwell and Matthew Frank are among the prosecutors to have questioned witnesses.
The defence represents Chauvin. Eric Nelson, a lawyer who has represented police officers in the past, has been the only lawyer to speak on behalf of Chauvin so far. There are nearly a dozen other lawyers working behind the scenes, but none have so far appeared in court.
You can watch part of Blackwell's opening statement below:
Video content
Cinder blocks, fences and rows of law enforcers
Tara McKelvey
BBC News, Brooklyn Center, Minnesota
Dozens of officers - local police, state police and members of the National Guard, are lined up in front of the police department here in Brooklyn Center. On Sunday, a young black man was shot and killed by local police, sparking unrest in the Minneapolis suburb.
Standing in the grass, I watch one woman, Patience Chowoe, a 36-year-old health care worker, walk straight up to the men.
First, she tries to find common ground, telling them they went to high school together: "You probably had a crush on me," she says to one. (He shakes his head, no, when I ask him if he did.).
The other men stare straight ahead.
After a while, her voice goes up: "I just want you to know that when you pull me over, look at me as a woman," she tells them. "When you pull us over, we want to have a conversation."
The conversation, as she admits to me, is "one-sided". She and the other protestors are shouting, the police stand silently, and several yards away, workers are putting up more fences in front of the police department, getting ready for the night.
The courtroom in sketches
Cameras are not normally permitted in federal courtrooms, which is why sketches of court proceedings are so common in high-profile US trials.
This time, due to Covid restrictions, the court sketch artist assigned to the Chauvin case is forced to watch from a video feed, much like the rest of us.
Here's a look at the moments captured in sketches so far.
Witness cracks joke about his kids
As Nelson attempts to suggest ex-officer Chauvin was distracted by what he called a "crowd" of bystanders during his arrest of Floyd, he asks Stoughton a question about his methodology.
"When you do your use-of-force analysis, you're not doing it in a dangerous environment I presume?"
Stoughton's answer produces one of the lighter moment's of today's testimony.
"Without making any jokes about my kids, no. I'm not generally doing it in a dangerous situation," he says.
The defence has now concluded their cross-examination of Stoughton.
'The knee should not have been on the neck'
Nelson asks Stoughton about an opinion piece he wrote for The Washington Post about the death of Floyd a few days after the incident in May 2020.
The piece he appears to be referring to is titled: “George Floyd's death shows exactly what police should not do”.
Nelson suggests that, in that article, Stoughton had “already formed that opinion that it was an unreasonable use of force”, before seeing more evidence.
In response, Stoughton says: “I think it’s fair to say that I formed the opinion that putting your knee across someone’s neck - except in unbelievable rare circumstances - is generally an inappropriate use of force."
“As I reviewed the materials in this case, some of the opinions I discussed in that op-ed changed and this was not one of them.”
Nelson then asks Stoughton if he thinks Chauvin’s knee was on Floyd’s neck for nine minutes and 26 seconds.
“In my perspective that’s irrelevant,” he says. “The knee should not have been on the neck.”
Security stepped up ahead of emergency curfews
Turning away from the trial for a moment, here's a look at the streets of Brooklyn Center, just miles away from the courtroom in Minneapolis.
Protests in this suburb erupted on Sunday after a 20-year-old black man was shot and killed by police during a traffic stop. Police say an officer mistakenly used her gun instead of a Taser during the encounter.
Stood in formation wearing riot gear, security forces have been deployed to protect the Brooklyn Center Police Department, which was the scene of unrest last night.
As we reported earlier, authorities have declared a state of emergency in Minneapolis, the state's largest city.
A curfew will be enforced between 19:00 on Monday and 06:00 on Tuesday.
The curfew will also be enforced in the twin city of St Paul and surrounding communities including Brooklyn Center.
The mood in the city has been tense since the trial of Derek Chauvin over the death of George Floyd began two weeks ago.
Police release video of Daunte Wright shooting
Earlier today, police in the Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Center released footage from the camera worn by the officer who shot 20-year-old Daunte Wright during a traffic stop last night.
You can read more about this story here: Daunte Wright killing was 'accidental' say police
Warning: The video clip below contains disturbing scenes.
Video content
Defence questions evaluating use of force 'after the fact'
The defence is now cross-examining Seth Stoughton.
Lead defence attorney Eric Nelson says use of force cannot be evaluated from "just 14 ten-second clips" but must look at "the totality of the circumstances".
He notes that a situation should not be viewed through the "20/20 lens of hindsight".
Stoughton responds that this "doesn't mean we can't evaluate an officer's use of force after the fact" because it is possible to conclude how a reasonable officer should have absorbed the information in a given situation.
"Officers generally rely on their training," he says, but it's important to look at whether they follow "the professional norms we expect" from a reasonable officer.
Watching the trial, and the police
Tara McKelvey
BBC News, Brooklyn Center, Minnesota
There is a wall of dark blue outside the police department here in Brooklyn Center.
Officers are lined up, facing a woman wearing a lilac jacket and a knit cap, and a small number of other demonstrators, who are stood in the rain, protesting the police.
In the background, you can hear demonstrators playing a livestream of the trial of Chauvin, which is now unfolding about 16 km (10 miles) from here.
It is a dramatic display of how the city has changed over the past year or so, with millions of people here and elsewhere rising up against the police.
At the same time, as many here are saying, things have remained the same, with another black resident, Daunte Wright, shot and killed by police.
'Unreasonable, excessive and contrary to accepted practice'
The witness says that, although George Floyd was a large man who was clearly impaired, a knee on his neck would never have been necessary.
"The sanctity of human life is the highest priority in policing," says legal expert and former officer Seth Stoughton.
He says "the duty to assist and render aid" whenever possible is a secondary priority.
Bystanders' pleas to check Floyd's pulse and Floyd's own increasingly desperate calls for help should have tipped off the officers that he was in medical distress, according to Stoughton.
"Both the knee across the neck and the prone restraint were unreasonable, excessive and contrary to generally accepted police practices," he says, noting this use of force had a "substantial likelihood of resulting in death or bodily harm".
"The failure to render aid to Mr Floyd was unreasonable and contrary to generally accepted police practices."
'Bystanders did not present a threat to the officers'
The defence has argued that the crowd of bystanders created a distraction for the officers and did not allow them to do their jobs properly.
Witness Seth Stoughton - a legal professor and a former officer - says that the noises bystanders were creating were not much more than "normal road traffic" during most of the arrest, until after Floyd had passed out.
He also adds the facts and circumstances suggest "they did not present a threat to the officers".
He notes that Tou Thao, the officer who asked bystanders to stand back, remarked: "This is why you don't do drugs, kids."
'Trying times' in a 'powder keg' of a city
Tara McKelvey
BBC News, Minneapolis
Former officer Rich Stanek, who also served as the sheriff in Hennepin County, home to the city of Minneapolis, says that it was hard to see images of violence, outside of the police department in Brooklyn Center.
"They were throwing bottles, rocks," he says, describing the protestors. He says that some of the officers, his former colleagues, were injured.
Still, the protests against the police seemed inevitable: the city has been like a "powder keg" during the weeks of the trial, he explains.
The shooting of Daunte Wright was yet another tragedy, and people were understandably angry. He says many residents of the city have turned against the police, though some still stand behind them.
"The community is separated between those that like and those that dislike," he tells me, describing how locals see the police force.
"It makes for trying times."
Has policing changed since Floyd's death?
The court is back from a brief recess. As prosecutors continue to play clips from Floyd's arrest, let's take a step out of the courtroom for a moment and look back to last year.
Footage of Floyd's death went viral last May, and protests erupted worldwide. Calls for police reform were widespread.
But has anything actually changed?
We examined some of the ways in which US policing changed in the weeks after Floyd's death. Check out the video below.
Video content
'Someone passing out is not a threat'
"Someone that's passing out is obviously not a threat," prosecutorial expert witness Seth Stoughton said just before the break.
His testimony cuts into the defence's argument that hostile suspects can sometimes wake up and continue a violent attack.
During questioning, Chauvin's lawyer Eric Nelson asked a former MMA fighter to witnessed Floyd's arrest and Minneapolis police investigator about whether they had ever seen this happening.
Both had answered that it is possible but rare.
Testimony paused for a break
"This would be an opportune time for a break," prosecuting lawyer Schleicher says, mid-way through questioning.
And with that, Judge Cahill tells the jury to take a 20 minute break.
The trial will continue soon.
Minneapolis mayor imposes emergency curfews
Mayor of Minneapolis Jacob Frey says he is declaring a state of emergency in response to the unrest following the killing of a young black man by police on Sunday.
He said a curfew would be imposed between 19:00 and 06:00 in the city and surrounding areas.
"The anguish we are suffering cannot translate into violence," the mayor said at a news conference.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz emphasised the same.
He expressed his condolences to the family of Daunte Wright, who was fatally shot during a traffic stop.
"We don't have to keep having these press conferences," he said.
"This state, this community and this nation need to have a place to grieve and to express - in many places - their anger that this continues to go on."
Walz said those who "try to take advantage of this to create chaos" would "not be tolerated".
Floyd said 'I can't breathe' 27 times - witness
"Two things stand out: You hear Mr Floyd say I cant breathe," says Stoughton of the latest clip, which shows Floyd restrained on the street.
Problems breathing are a symptom of positional asphyxia, he says, adding that this was caused by the officers placing Floyd on the ground and putting pressure on his back and neck.
Drug or alcohol intoxication can also play a role, he notes, adding that police at the scene believed Floyd to be intoxicated at the time.
"You hear an officer saying he's passing out - that again indicates an increasing level of medical distress."
Stoughton says: "Before he fell silent, Mr Floyd said - by my count - 'I can't breathe' at least 27 times."