Today marks day 3 of Derek Chauvin’s murder trial for the death of George Floyd. Over the past two days, bystanders and witnesses took the stand including a young child and an 18-year-old girl, as well as an MMA fighter and a firefighter who both attempted to intervene as Chauvin’s knee pushed into Floyd’s neck.
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61-year-old Charles McMillian was an onlooker at the time of Floyd’s death and was heard trying to tell him to comply with police orders, saying, “You can’t win.” McMillian’s also on the side telling the cops that they need to take their knee off of Floyd’s neck.
Moments after the death of George Floyd, McMillian was spotted on CCTV camera and police bodycam speaking to Chauvin as he was getting into his squad car. The bodycam footage was shown in court, revealing that McMillian did approach Chauvin after Floyd’s death to tell him that he didn’t respect what he did.
“That’s one person’s opinion,” Chauvin said as he got into his squad car. “We had to control this guy because he’s a sizable guy. It looks like he’s probably on something.”
The most powerful moment during McMillian’s testimony arrived as he broke down into tears on the stand watching the playback of the gruesome video. “I feel helpless. I don’t have a Momma either. I understand him. My mom died June 25th,” McMillian said as he recalled Floyd’s plea for his mom.