(08-04-2020, 04:28 PM)JagNGeorgia Wrote:

(08-04-2020, 02:11 PM)TrivialPursuit Wrote: Which, in turn, made the cops disbelieve him when he said it on the ground.

The point that video clearly makes.. it should never have gotten to that point. Not even close... and I think it's because the Police were initially very soft with him especially compared to my own personal interaction with Police in Jacksonville.

More than likely. He seemed that his cardiac arrest started during his arrest which would explain his not feeling as though he could breathe.

They were soft with him, but I don't think it would have changed anything had they man handled him. I think his behavior was exacerbated by his medical condition. 

(08-04-2020, 02:29 PM)jagibelieve Wrote: That leaked body cam footage answers what I have been saying all along.  There was a reason why he was on the ground and being restrained.

Based on the limited evidence that I have seen, it is my opinion that if this goes to court as charged all three officers will be acquitted (rightfully so).  It will be hard to prove to 12 jurors beyond a shadow of a doubt that there was any intent to commit murder.

The other officers are absolutely getting acquitted.

There's enough doubt here that they may be able to prove it was a medical episode and not murder. I could see them catching some other charge about not providing care to someone in their custody. 

(08-04-2020, 02:33 PM)jagibelieve Wrote: I somewhat disagree with the part in bold.  It appears that the cop couldn't see Floyd's right hand.  Drawing the weapon to a close/ready position is defensive.  Where I think the cop made a mistake was allowing the suspect to see it.

Having it out when you don't need it is better than not having it when you do need it that's for sure.

I agree on both points that you made.

Regarding the first point, my thought is it's not up to the defense to prove that the cause of death was a medical episode, though that's what it looks like to me.  It's up to the prosecution to prove the intent to kill.  I have seen no evidence (though I have only seen what was made public) that would lead me to believe that the intent was to kill the man.

As far as the second point, I personally drew my weapon during traffic stops when I felt that I needed to.  I usually either kept it down by my thigh or had it pointed in the proper direction next to my hip.  The point is that the people who were in the vehicle(s) never even knew that I had drawn the weapon in the first place.  It was solely for my protection if I felt uncomfortable about a situation.  I don't disagree with the officer drawing his weapon, but I disagree with the way that he "brandished" it.

Having said that, I believe if anything the charge should be something like an involuntary manslaughter at the most.  It was pretty obvious to me that the man was having some kind of psychological issue whether the influence of drugs or otherwise.  The point when he physically started "going downhill" should have been the point that they rendered medical aide.  Again, it's hard to know what was going through the officers' minds.  They are trying to take a very large man into custody that clearly had mental problems.

Unfortunately, the "court of public opinion" has already convicted the officers without knowing all of the facts.

---