Derek Chauvin trial to pivot in second week to ex-Minneapolis officer’s training before George Floyd death

The trial of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer charged in George Floyd’s death, is expected to pivot on Monday to his law enforcement training. The first week was dominated by testimony from prosecution witnesses including paramedics and police who treated Floyd as well as bystanders outside the store where Floyd was placed under arrest.

The defense argues that Chauvin did what he was trained to do and that Floyd’s use of drugs during his arrest, as well as underlying health conditions and adrenaline, caused his death. An autopsy conducted by the Hennepin County Medical Examiner found fentanyl and methamphetamine in his system. Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo is expected to testify during the trial's second week, perhaps as early as Monday. Arradondo, the city's first Black police chief, fired Chauvin and three other officers the day after Floyd's death, and in June called it "murder."