George Floyd witness breaks down in Derek Chauvin trial as bodycam and phone vids shown for first time
A WITNESS in Derek Chauvin’s murder trial broke down in tears on Wednesday as he watched bodycam and social media footage of George Floyd’s fatal interaction with Minneapolis police officers.
New bodycam footage, surveillance video and social media videos showing Floyd begging with cops not to shoot him were played for the first time in the third day of the high-profile trial.
Bystander Charles McMillian, 61, wiped his face and eyes as he told the Minnesota Assistant Attorney General Erin Eldridge how he felt “helpless” while watching the arrest.
“Oh my God,” McMillan sobbed as the footage was turned off.
McMillan claimed he was “nosy” when he first stopped his car on May 25 outside of the Cup Foods store where Floyd was being arrested.
Surveillance video showed that McMillan was on the scene as officers started to move Floyd across the street from his own car, and tried to get him into the squad car.
McMillan himself had urged Floyd to get into the cop car and not resist arrest.
“I’m trying to get him to understand that when you make a mistake once they get you in car,” McMillan said during his testimony on Wednesday afternoon.
“You’re going to go with them and I was trying to get him to go.”
McMillan and the court were shown bystander footage in which Floyd called out for his mother and said he couldn’t breathe.
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“You can’t win!” the 61-year-old was heard shouting at Floyd as he tried to convince him to get in the car.
McMillan said he told Floyd this “because I have had interactions with officers myself and I understand once you get in the car, you can’t win, you’re done. It’s just the way I’ve looked at it.”
McMillan added that he understood Floyd’s pleas as he had also lost his mother on June 25.