In a Twitter thread Monday, Human Events co-publisher Will Chamberlain called out the “terrible lawyering” going on in the Derek Chauvin trial.
In case you are new to the story, here’s some brief background.
In a video that ripped through social media like wildfire last May, ex-Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was seen pressing his knee into George Floyd’s neck for nine minutes. Police had responded to the scene at a convenience store after Floyd was accused of using counterfeit money to make a purchase.
The medical examiner ruled the manner of death a homicide, though there was also a “pretty high” level of fentanyl in Floyd’s system at the time of death.
Still, the media sprung to action, crucifying the “racist” officers involved.
The incident was used as an excuse to justify and launch a series of violent riots across the country under the banner of social justice. For months, looting, vandalism and destruction took over major cities, with team-left calling to “defund the police.
Chauvin, 45, has been charged with second-degree unintentional murder, second-degree manslaughter and third-degree murder. If convicted, he could face a maximum of 40 years for second-degree murder, 25 years for third-degree murder and 10 years for manslaughter.
Now, back to the Twitter thread.
Chamberlain tweeted a video clip, during which prosecution use-of-force expert Stoughton disagreed with another prosecution use-of-force expert on whether Chauvin’s actions were justified.
“The officers used some amount of force to put him into the car, and I have no issue with that but putting him in the prone position especially on the street side of the car was unreasonable and excessive and contrary to generally accepted police practices,” the expert said.
For reference, the other expert testified that it was reasonable for the officers to use the prone position at the time of the incident.
“This is a very, very bad moment for the prosecution,” Chamberlain said in the tweet. “Prosecution use of force expert Stoughton disagrees with prosecution use-of-force expert Stiger on whether Chauvin and the other officers were justified in putting George Floyd in the prone position.”
“He’s explicitly contradicting earlier testimony from the prosecution’s other use-of-force expert,” Chamberlain added.
“Terrible lawyering to let that happen.”
