Chauvin’s restraint of George Floyd was ‘unauthorised’: Officer

Minneapolis police lieutenant tells Derek Chauvin trial that officers are told ‘to stay away from the neck when possible’.

The restraint former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin used on George Floyd was unauthorised, an official with the city’s police department said on Tuesday, the latest day of testimony in Chauvin’s murder trial. Prosecutors showed Lieutenant Johnny Mercil a photograph of Chauvin using his knee to pin Floyd’s neck to the ground and was asked if the officer was using an authorised neck restraint under the circumstances. “I would say no,” said Mercil, who teaches the proper use of force for the department.