Importantly, Tobin noted that Floyd succumbing to those forces was not an idiosyncrasy, even though he suffered from heart disease and had fentanyl and methamphetamine in his system when he died.
No one disagrees that there were drugs at the scene and in Floyd’s body, or that he had preexisting conditions. “This is the first time that I’ve seen some cracks in the so-called blue wall of silence, and it gives me some hope,” Boston College of Law professor Robert Bloom told HuffPost. On cross-examination, however, law enforcement largely agreed with defense attorney Eric Nelson when he pointed out that officers have to protect themselves from potential threats, as well. One of Nelson’s key objectives is to convince the jury that Chauvin was generally following police training ― that what viewers saw on camera is part of the “awful but lawful” side of police work.
“Now, the rest of the world is probably horrified” by what they have seen on viral videos of Floyd’s arrest, Hansford went on. “So in a lot of ways, if the defense is persuasive, that’s a greater indictment of the police than if, you know, Chauvin was convicted.”Next week, the defense is expected to start calling witnesses of their own ― offering Chauvin’s attorneys a necessary chance to strengthen their arguments.