Floyd family attorney Ben Crump says that watching the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin has been heart-wrenching. Despite being let down by the criminal justice system in the past, Crump told CNN's Jim Acosta that he is confident that the jury will convict the former police officer. However, he did not specify which charge he believes the jury will convict Chauvin of. The former police officer currently faces second-degree murder, second-degree manslaughter and third-degree manslaughter.
Thus far, Crump says the testimonies from two witnesses, in particular, have captured his attention. The first witness that grabbed his attention was Minneapolis 911 dispatcher Jena Scurry. While addressing the court, Scurry said that she could tell "something was no right" from the movement she was contacted.
"My instincts were telling me that something's wrong. Something was not right. I don't know what, but something wasn't right," Scurry said.
"It was an extended period of time."
After Scurry addressed the court, Crump said that he was captivated by the testimony from Lt. Richard Zimmerman. The area's top homicide detective said that Chauvin's decision to kneel on George Floyd's neck after he was handcuffed was "totally unacceptable."
"It says something when you have the highest-ranking police officials in Minneapolis Police Department also saying this is a bridge too far," Crump said.
"You knew you weren't supposed to keep a human being facedown like that where they could not breathe. And yet, you did it and you did it even after he had become unconscious."
In contrast, Crump was not excited to hear the defense and prosecution discuss Floyd's struggles with addiction. Nevertheless, he and the Floyd family are prepared for it.
"It's going to antagonize them over and over when (defense attorneys) try to tell them that his cause of death was not what they saw in this video, but some trace amounts of drugs that [were] found in his system," Crump told CNN.
The sixth day of the Chauvin trial kicks off today, April 5.
The Black Information Network's trial-related content includes a nightly news special, titled "Searching for Justice for George Floyd," that airs at 7:00 pm ET Monday through Friday on all BIN 24/7 affiliates. Emmy Award-winning journalist Vanessa Tyler will anchor the daily 30-minute commercial-free recap of that day's testimony.
Additionally, BIN's Morgyn Wood will anchor live coverage of the trial on our Minneapolis affiliate BIN 93.3 FM. Tune in to Black Information Network 24/7's coverage on 31 Black Information Network affiliate stations and on the iHeartRadio app.Frequent updates and breaking news will also air on all 92 iHeartMedia Hip Hop, R&B, and Gospel music stations.
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