Prosecutor Turns Defense Theory Against Derek Chauvin in Closing Arguments: ‘Human, Not Superhuman’

Prosecutor Steve Schleicher told jurors Monday that “there was no superhuman strength” shown on the day George Floyd was killed, recalling a concept introduced by the defense in his closing argument in the murder trial of the former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin.

“He was so desperate to breathe that he pushed with his face to lift himself up to open his chest to give his lungs room to breathe,” Schleicher said of Floyd, describing part of the more than nine minutes that Chauvin pressed his knee to Floyd’s neck, pinning Floyd face-down on the pavement for more than nine minutes. “The pavement tearing into his skin, George Floyd losing strength. Not superhuman strength. There was no superhuman strength that day. There was no superhuman strength because there is no such thing as a superhuman. Those exist in comic books, and 38th and Chicago is a very real place. Not superhumans. Only humans. Just a human, just a man, lying on the pavement being pressed upon, desperately crying out. A grown man, crying out for his mother. A human being,” Schleicher said.

Barry Brodd, a use-of-force expert for the defense, had previously suggested during testimony that Floyd could have “superhuman strength,” said to be a sign of a condition called “excited delirium” that has been used to explain deaths in police custody. The concept of “superhuman strength” has long been used to stereotype Black men as threatening and dangerous.

Schleicher also reminded the jurors that Chauvin did not respond to Floyd’s repeated pleas for help.

“He called him Mr. Officer. That’s what he called him. Mr. Officer,” Schleicher said. “Mr. Officer would help. You call the police when you need help, and he pleaded with Mr. Officer. George Floyd’s final words on May 25, 2020, were ‘Please. I can’t breathe.’ And he said those words to Mr. Officer. He said those words to the defendant. He asked for help. With his very last breath. But Mr. Officer did not help. The defendant did not help. He stayed on top of him, continued to push him down.”

“Facing George Floyd that day, that did not require one ounce of courage. And none was shown on that day. No courage was required. All that was required was a little compassion. And none was shown on that day,” Schleicher later said, recalling the motto of the Minneapolis police, which is “to protect with courage and to serve with compassion.”

Schleicher also reminded jurors that only Chauvin is on trial, not the entire Minneapolis police department. “There is nothing worse for a good police than bad police, who doesn’t follow the rules, who doesn’t follow procedure, who doesn’t follow training,” Schleicher said.

He later urged jurors to remember what they saw in the video, which the prosecution showed to jurors in its entirety at the start of the trial. “Use your common sense,” Schleicher said. “Believe your eyes. What you saw, you saw.”

Watch above, via MSNBC.

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