Store Clerk Who Reported $20 Bill Says He Felt ‘Disbelief and Guilt’ After Witnessing George Floyd’s Death: ‘Could Have Been Avoided’

Former Cup Foods clerk Christopher Martin gave emotional testimony at the Derek Chauvin murder trial as he expressed his “guilt” over the circumstances that led to George Floyd’s death.

Martin was on the stand Wednesday in Minneapolis, where he spoke about how he and other employees at the store confronted Floyd last year when he was accused of using a counterfeit $20 bill to buy cigarettes. He told the court that Floyd seemed “high” during the encounter, and he recalled the events that led to the police being called to the store and Floyd’s subsequent death after Chauvin knelt on his neck while placing him under arrest.

After Martin recalled witnessing Floyd’s fatal arrest, he also spoke about his emotional state, saying “I was standing there at the curb and I was like ‘they are not going to help him. This is what we have to deal with.'”

As the trial played security camera footage from the arrest, the video showed Martin with his hands on his head, and he was asked what was going through his mind at the time.

“Disbelief and guilt,” he answered.

“Why guilt?” He was asked.

“If I would’ve just not taken the bill, this could have been avoided,” Martin responded. Later, when asked why he no longer works at Cup Foods, he said “I didn’t feel safe.”

Watch above, via MSNBC.