People still don't realize that Chauvin never knelt on Floyd's neck.
Attorney Greg Joseph has filed a 'Memorandum in support of petition for postconviction relief' on behalf of his client Derek Chauvin — the former Minneapolis police officer involved in the arrest and death of George Floyd.
In the 71-page petition filed in Hennepin County District Court, Joseph stated that 'this case simply never made sense.' Among several key arguments, he pointed out how few murders 'take place before a crowd of witnesses' while officers are working with dispatchers and requesting an ambulance and emergency response.
Chauvin was not merely charged with misconduct, or even a lesser charge like involuntary manslaughter. Instead, he was tried for murder and sent to jail where he was promptly stabbed 22 times by an inmate.
His attorney argues that Chauvin followed standard protocol used by thousands of law enforcement agencies around the world for subduing a noncompliant suspect (George Floyd had been forcefully resisting arrest for many long minutes as multiple officers tried calmly to get him to sit in the back of a police cruiser).
This standard protocol involves a knee on the back of the shoulder blades:
The prosecution argued Floyd's neck was compressed and that this, not the multiple drugs in his system combined with the exertion of fighting officers, is what caused his death.
The petition states that the case involved two key issues: intent and causation. That is, one, whether the restraint of Floyd followed policies and procedures of the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD); and two, if the restraint caused his death.
While George Floyd did die from cardiac and respiratory issues, he was also in an aggravated state, fighting cops, with multiple drugs in his system. The autopsy report indicates "no life-threatening injuries" were present.
In seeking to vacate Chauvin's conviction, or obtain a new trial, the petition argues that Chauvin 'was deprived of his right to due process under the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and Article I of the Minnesota Constitution.'
The attorney argues that the prosecution relied on still video frames, like this one, to enflame the jury amid the "hysteria of the day."
Multiple cities were torched and looted based on that hysteria, racking up over $20 billion in property damage across America, in addition to widespread increase in violent crime.
In addition to suggesting that several of the prosecution's witnesses were "lying by omission, if not lying outright," Chauvin's attorney references 50 officers who have now signed sworn declarations that Chauvin's use of force was well within standard means and protocol.
Joseph's petition for Chauvin also references the 34 current and former MPD officers who provided sworn declarations about how the restraint that Chauvin used was in fact part of MPD training, to the contrary of Blackwell's testimony during Chauvin's trial. In addition to those 34 officers, Chauvin's petition includes declarations from 23 additional officers who came forward.
As for the witnesses who perjured themselves, Minneapolis officers have also sworn declarations that one of their own lied on the stand:
The attorney argues that the State of Minnesota, along with the federal government (which also charge Chauvin), willfully allowed the truth to be sacrificed for a narrative.
Another key aspect of the petition argues that the methods used to examine the video by Dr. Martin Tobin, a witness for the prosecution, are at odds with the methods used by the medical examiner, Dr. Andrew Baker, the only doctor who conducted an actual autopsy of Floyd.
As explained in the petition: 'The State knew all of this, and the only logical reason to bring in additional experts to contradict these findings is because prosecutors knew that Baker's findings alone would not get them beyond the reasonable doubt they needed to convict Chauvin.'
Joseph further stated in the petition that prosecutors apparently followed a strategy 'to replace the jury as finders of fact, use the video to inflame their prejudices, and fill in causation despite the lack of proof. This meant discrediting the medical examiner. So, Baker was called to testify fifth among causation witnesses.'
The prosecution has 45 days to respond.
As you can imagine, everyone started arguing in the comments.
Absolutely no way Timmy Walz would even consider it!
In positive news, a Christian officer who was jailed for nearly 5 years for the crime of being in Chauvin's proximity has finally been reunited with his wife and kids, and was able to share the Gospel with a number of inmates.
P.S. Now check out our latest video 👇
