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Derek Chauvin defense lawyers grasping at straws.

Posted: Wed Apr 14, 2021 4:42 pm
by TrueTexan
Here are the biggest mistakes from Chauvin's lawyers today — other than paying expert $11,000 for testimony: experts

Barry Brodd, a former police officer and so-called "use-of-force expert," was paid $11,000 to say that Derek Chauvin's actions were "justified."

According to the New York Times and Washington Post, if Brodd seemed to be having a tough time saying the words "top" when asked about Derek Chauvin's positioning on George Floyd. As if it was a game of "charades," Brodd repeatedly didn't "understand" simple questions about where Chauvin was with respect to Floyd.

"Yeah, no," said trial attorney Katie Phang speaking to MSNBC's Joy Reid Tuesday evening. She went on to explain that Brodd was unlikable and that he and the defense ultimately failed during the proceedings. She went on to wonder why the defense team would use him when there are other more likable experts.

Brodd was called in as an expert witness in the Laquan McDonald trial as well, which Phang said he failed at too.

"What was really critical about this expert is that he was trying desperately to show in a very clinical way that use of force has to be done, you know, compliant with police procedures, et cetera," she went on. "The problem is the defense must assume that the jury is not paying attention because we heard from the actual guy, Lt. Johnny Mercil, who said that technique that Derek Chauvin used is not taught by the Minnesota PD. So, we already have the person who is actually in charge of everything, including the chief of police saying we don't condone this. We don't authorize this and the other critical mistake made by the defense was through this guy, Barry Brodd."

She went on to say that a "golden rule" of trials is never to ask the members of the jury to put themselves in the shoes of the defendant.

"That's a mistrial so what's critically wrong with this argument they're doing? If you ask the jurors any of these 12 jurors to put themselves in the shoes of Derek Chauvin, none are ever going to say what that cop did was reasonable, objectively, subjectively wasn't reasonable so that was a major mistake because none of those jurors will say that 9:29 on somebody without a pulse as something they would ever do as a reasonable officer. That was a critical problem," she said.
https://www.rawstory.com/defense-expert ... k-chaufin/

Defense expert testifies George Floyd died from heart disease, exhaust fumes


MINNEAPOLIS (Reuters) -A medical expert testifying in defense of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin told the jury on Wednesday he believed that George Floyd's death during his arrest was the result of heart disease making his heart beat erratically.

Dr. David Fowler, who was Maryland's chief medical examiner until his retirement in 2019, said exhaust fumes from the police car next to which Chauvin pinned Floyd to the road may also have contributed to Floyd's death in May 2020.

Fowler appeared to dispute at least some of the findings of Dr. Andrew Baker, Hennepin County's chief medical examiner, who ruled Floyd's death a homicide caused by Chauvin and other officers restraining Floyd in a way that starved his body of oxygen.

Fowler said he believed the manner of death could be considered a homicide in some lights, an accident in others, and so he would have instead ruled it "undecided."

Chauvin, who is white, has pleaded not guilty to murder and manslaughter charges. He was seen kneeling on the neck of Floyd, a Black man in handcuffs, for nine minutes in bystander video that sparked global protests against police brutality.

Here are some important moments from the 13th day of testimony and the second day of the defense case in Chauvin's trial:

DR. DAVID FOWLER, FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST

Fowler said he had studied the findings of the county's chief medical examiner and decided that Floyd's death was caused by his heart suddenly beating in an erratic way, known as sudden cardiac arrhythmia.

He said this was a result of his "atherosclerotic and hypertensive heart disease" during the police restraint, using medical terms to describe the narrowing of blood vessels and heart problems caused by high blood pressure.

Fowler said the way Floyd struggled with police trying to get him into their car may have caused stress that led to cardiac arrhythmia.

The fentanyl and methamphetamine found in Floyd's blood and carbon monoxide poisoning from the exhaust fumes of the adjacent police car may have contributed to the death, Fowler said. Eric Nelson, Chauvin's lead lawyer, spent many minutes asking Fowler to describe the toxins found in car exhaust and how it can kill people even in an outdoor area.

Asked by Nelson why Chauvin and other officers by the car were not harmed by carbon monoxide poisoning, Fowler replied that their heads were farther from the exhaust pipe than was Floyd's, and "hopefully they're younger" than Floyd. Chauvin was 44 and Floyd was 46 at the time of Floyd's death.

The jury has previously heard from medical experts called by prosecutors from the Minnesota attorney general's office, who say Floyd had high blood pressure, a slightly enlarged heart and used opioid painkillers but that none were the cause of his death.

Those experts agreed with the findings on Floyd's death certificate, saying he was killed because he was unable to inhale sufficient oxygen due to the way police compressed his prone body against the road. Baker, the chief medical examiner who certified Floyd's death, told the jury he stands by his findings.

Nelson asked Fowler if Floyd died in a homicide or by some other manner.

"This is one of those cases where you have so many conflicting different manners," Fowler said. "The carbon monoxide would usually be classified as an accident, although somebody was holding him there so you could elevate that to a homicide."

In the end, he said he would "fall back to 'undetermined' on this particular case."

Fowler has been involved in other high-profile cases involving police using force against Black people. His office ruled the 2015 death of Freddie Gray a homicide after Gray, 25, suffered spinal injuries in the back of a police van in Baltimore.

In December, Fowler was sued in federal court by the family of Anton Black, who was 19 when he died in 2018 after police pinned him face down on the ground for several minutes as he cried out for his mother. Fowler ruled Black's death an accident caused by the "the stress of his struggle."

Black's family cited similarities with Floyd's death in their lawsuit, in which they said Fowler and other Maryland officials "covered up and obscured police responsibility" for Black's death. Lawyers for Fowler say the way he certified Black's death did not infringe on the constitutional rights of Black's family.
https://this.kiji.is/755099113085861888 ... 7532812385

They are using any excuse they can come up with. Looking at the pictures I can'r believe we haven't heard of anybody stating the cause of death was Chauvin pressing down on Floyd's carotid arteries ether stopping or reducing the blood flow to the brain also pressing on the carotid sinuses that causes the heart rate to decrease to the point of people passing out or causing cardiac arrhythmias and possible cardiac arrest.

Re: Derek Chauvin defense lawyers grasping at straws.

Posted: Wed Apr 14, 2021 5:10 pm
by YankeeTarheel
I was listening as I was bicycling around and I couldn't believe Fowler's arrogance and the obvious holes in his testimony...I was JUST watching the prosecutor outplaying him like a grand master chess player against a county champion.
What I heard; Prone on the ground with 3 men on top of you isn't going to affect your breathing.
Mr. Floyd saying "I can't breathe" meant he could.
He had monoxide poisoning, even though Fowler had ZERO evidence of monoxide in Floyd's blood. IOW, he was pulling it out of his ass.

His testimony was contradictory. If, indeed, the car was running and Floyd was about as far way from the exhaust as Fowler's Polish suicide example, and was held there by Chauvin and the others, while prone, with Chauvin's knee in his neck, then that WOULD be intentional murder. Who doesn't know that exhaust fumes are deadly, especially a cop who has to have SOME training as to when someone is in physical distress?

Unfortunately, they cut away to Biden going to Arlington Cemetery JUST as the prosecutor was starting to spring trap and Fowler was squirming like he was sitting on fire ants...

Re: Derek Chauvin defense lawyers grasping at straws.

Posted: Wed Apr 14, 2021 6:56 pm
by lurker
you exhale when you talk. doesn't mean you can inhale.

Re: Derek Chauvin defense lawyers grasping at straws.

Posted: Wed Apr 14, 2021 7:12 pm
by DJD100
GUILTY, hang him!

I've never seen a more open and shut case, murder 1 or 2?

Re: Derek Chauvin defense lawyers grasping at straws.

Posted: Wed Apr 14, 2021 7:53 pm
by YankeeTarheel
DJD100 wrote: Wed Apr 14, 2021 7:12 pm GUILTY, hang him!

I've never seen a more open and shut case, murder 1 or 2?
Slowly!

Re: Derek Chauvin defense lawyers grasping at straws.

Posted: Wed Apr 14, 2021 8:13 pm
by INVICTVS138
Unpopular take - he gets convicted but has a successful appeal grounds for a retrial Becuase of ineffective council.


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Re: Derek Chauvin defense lawyers grasping at straws.

Posted: Wed Apr 14, 2021 10:10 pm
by YankeeTarheel
INVICTVS138 wrote: Wed Apr 14, 2021 8:13 pm Unpopular take - he gets convicted but has a successful appeal grounds for a retrial Becuase of ineffective council.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Actually, I think the defense knows Chauvin has fucked himself and are desperately trying to find SOME hook to get him off, or at least in a position to plead it down.
Usually, your hired expert witnesses have SOMETHING they can REASONABLY introduce doubt with. But I believe they KNOW their goose is cooked and are just trying to throw any shade they can in a desperate Hail Mary.

Re: Derek Chauvin defense lawyers grasping at straws.

Posted: Thu Apr 15, 2021 7:56 am
by F4FEver
YankeeTarheel wrote: Wed Apr 14, 2021 10:10 pm
INVICTVS138 wrote: Wed Apr 14, 2021 8:13 pm Unpopular take - he gets convicted but has a successful appeal grounds for a retrial Becuase of ineffective council.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Actually, I think the defense knows Chauvin has fucked himself and are desperately trying to find SOME hook to get him off, or at least in a position to plead it down.
Usually, your hired expert witnesses have SOMETHING they can REASONABLY introduce doubt with. But I believe they KNOW their goose is cooked and are just trying to throw any shade they can in a desperate Hail Mary.
Agree..they are just trying to minimize this prick former cop's inevitable sentence...

As an aside..the woman former cop who yelled, 'taser, taser, taser' and shot the black kid in the car...she's going to spend some time in the big house as well..
Gotta wonder if the shoot was intentional..her taser on her non dominant, left side, yellow, weighs a LOT less than a handgun....26 year LEO..dumb as shit.

Re: Derek Chauvin defense lawyers grasping at straws.

Posted: Thu Apr 15, 2021 9:19 am
by YankeeTarheel
Turns out, Dr. Fowler is being SUED in Maryland for covering up for police on a wrongful death. I don't know if the prosecution has brought that up, or will, but it surely punches a BIG hole in his credibility, which has already been demolished.

Re: Derek Chauvin defense lawyers grasping at straws.

Posted: Thu Apr 15, 2021 11:07 am
by TrueTexan
Derek Chauvin invokes 5th Amendment and says he will not testify at trial

Former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin on Thursday invoked his 5th Amendment rights and said he would not testify at his trial for the murder of George Floyd.

Via CNN's Jim Sciutto, Chauvin also emphasized that it was his own decision to not testify at the trial.

With Chauvin's announcement, the defense in the trial officially rested its case.
https://www.rawstory.com/derek-chauvin-fifth-amendment/

We all know the invoking the Fifth Amendment is not suppose to effect the trial. But, refusing to testify, in reality not telling his side of the story is troubling.

Re: Derek Chauvin defense lawyers grasping at straws.

Posted: Thu Apr 15, 2021 10:15 pm
by wings
I'm worried about the impact of Fowler's testimony, not gonna lie. Not bringing up his history, not asking him to take a knee to the neck for 9 minutes to demonstrate the safety of the technique - if the defense did their job and got the one person who could be convinced there was a reasonable doubt, Minnesota's gonna have a bad time.

Re: Derek Chauvin defense lawyers grasping at straws.

Posted: Fri Apr 16, 2021 11:43 am
by TrueTexan
I agree, if it winds up anyway but a guilty verdict, all hell is going to break lose. It won't be just in Minnesota, but in other states. Reminds e of 1968 after MLK was killed.

Re: Derek Chauvin defense lawyers grasping at straws.

Posted: Fri Apr 16, 2021 12:14 pm
by featureless
TrueTexan wrote: Fri Apr 16, 2021 11:43 am I agree, if it winds up anyway but a guilty verdict, all hell is going to break lose. It won't be just in Minnesota, but in other states.
Yup.

Isn't it neat that the Dems in congress are so busy with gun control (silencers were added to the "things that must be banned" legislation list today) and packing SCOTUS that they've totally forgotten their promise on cop control?

Re: Derek Chauvin defense lawyers grasping at straws.

Posted: Tue Apr 20, 2021 5:19 pm
by rockhound

Re: Derek Chauvin defense lawyers grasping at straws.

Posted: Tue Apr 20, 2021 5:20 pm
by featureless
Fuck yes! I am so relieved that justice was served and that the blue wall has been, at least temporarily, lowered. Happy to know some cops are willing to testify against bad cops. It's progress.

Re: Derek Chauvin defense lawyers grasping at straws.

Posted: Tue Apr 20, 2021 5:21 pm
by rockhound
featureless wrote: Tue Apr 20, 2021 5:20 pm Fuck yes! I am so relieved that justice was served and that the blue wall has been, at least temporarily, lowered. Happy to know some cops are willing to testify against bad cops. It's progress.
Indeed!

Re: Derek Chauvin defense lawyers grasping at straws.

Posted: Tue Apr 20, 2021 5:24 pm
by 7N6Wolf
White supremacists everywhere just got a slap in the face on Adolf Hitler’s birthday of all days.


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Re: Derek Chauvin defense lawyers grasping at straws.

Posted: Tue Apr 20, 2021 5:27 pm
by BearPaws
TrueTexan wrote: Fri Apr 16, 2021 11:43 am I agree, if it winds up anyway but a guilty verdict, all hell is going to break lose. It won't be just in Minnesota, but in other states. Reminds e of 1968 after MLK was killed.
Now that the initial trial is over with three guilty verdicts, I can relax a little bit. I was afraid that the whole country would be another LA 1992.

I mention that my relaxation is not total, as there will surely be some appeals or attempts to call it a mistrial or some other attempt to revisit the trial hoping for different results.

Re: Derek Chauvin defense lawyers grasping at straws.

Posted: Tue Apr 20, 2021 5:32 pm
by NegativeApproach
7N6Wolf wrote: Tue Apr 20, 2021 5:24 pm White supremacists everywhere just got a slap in the face on Adolf Hitler’s birthday of all days.


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Good.

Re: Derek Chauvin defense lawyers grasping at straws.

Posted: Tue Apr 20, 2021 5:50 pm
by FrontSight
Yeah the whities are losing their minds...too late.

I'm sure tomorrow's headlines will be all about the fucked up racist shit Tucker Carlson says tonight.

Re: Derek Chauvin defense lawyers grasping at straws.

Posted: Tue Apr 20, 2021 6:55 pm
by Bisbee
7N6Wolf wrote: Tue Apr 20, 2021 5:24 pm White supremacists everywhere just got a slap in the face on Adolf Hitler’s birthday of all days.
Thank the gods! Guilty on all three charges.

Re: Derek Chauvin defense lawyers grasping at straws.

Posted: Tue Apr 20, 2021 7:08 pm
by Mikeinmich
Yes. Except that some stupid comments by a moron representative from California may well get him a retrial. I hope the jurors were sequestered by that point. People are so f’in stupid. Not to mention it pisses me off when she was trying to incite a riot, and everyone seems to be giving her a free pass. But today, I’ll settle for some justice. 👍

Re: Derek Chauvin defense lawyers grasping at straws.

Posted: Tue Apr 20, 2021 7:14 pm
by Bisbee
Poignant:
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey tweeted that "George Floyd came to Minneapolis to better his life. But ultimately his life will have bettered our city."

"The jury joined in a shared conviction that has animated Minneapolis for the last 11 months," Frey added. "They refused to look away and affirmed he should still be here today."

Re: Derek Chauvin defense lawyers grasping at straws.

Posted: Tue Apr 20, 2021 7:16 pm
by sikacz
I agree with my mayor, and proud he leads Houston. (I suspect we don’t see eye to eye on the second) In many respects he is the best mayor Houston has had in my lifetime.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/ho ... r-BB1fS0M9
"This not one of those moments when you can say we've accomplished our mission or mission accomplished. It's not a time to jump up and down. It's a time to be reflective and ask what can we do collectively to make our city better."

Re: Derek Chauvin defense lawyers grasping at straws.

Posted: Tue Apr 20, 2021 7:18 pm
by wings
Seen enough of what we call the justice system to expect the convictions to be overturned on appeal. Assuming he doesn't get a 9 minute welcome to the state pen.

Still waiting on justice for the others. All the others.