Speaking on the fourth day of Derek Chauvin's trial over the death of George Floyd, the fired-Minneapolis police officer's former supervisor has told jurors that cops 'could have ended their restraint' sooner than they did.
When questioned on Thursday (April 1) about the force used against the late George Floyd, former police sergeant David Pleoger told the courtroom after reviewing the arrest: "When Mr Floyd was no longer offering up any resistance to the officers, they could’ve ended their restraint."
Per The Independent, Pleoger was questioned after an audio recording of Chauvin speaking to his then-supervisor moments after Floyd's arrest was played to the courtroom.
In the audio clip, Chauvin can be heard reporting that he and other officers had to use force in order to restrain Floyd.
"I was just going to call you to come out to our scene," Chauvin tells Pleoger on the call from the police car. "We had to hold a guy down; he was going crazy, wouldn't go in the back of the squad."
Pleoger then told prosecutor Steve Schleicher: "I believe he told me he'd become combative.
"He mentioned he'd injured either his nose or his mouth, and eventually having struggled with him. He said he'd suffered a medical emergency and an ambulance was called."
The former sergeant says that Chauvin made no mention of placing his knee on Floyd's neck or back.
When Schleicher asked Pleoger - who has recently retired from the police - if the Chauvin should have stopped restraining the 46-year-old, he replied: "Yes, [it should have ended] when Mr Floyd was no longer offering up any resistance."
Pleoger was also asked: "Is the placement of a knee on a subject's neck a use of force?" To which he replied, "Yes," later clarifying that it is not "necessarily" a reportable type of force. Pleoger then adds that "it could happen" that an officer places their knee on a subject's neck while fighting to arrest them.
Schleicher then asked Pleoger how long an officer should have their knee on a subject, to which the former officer sergeant: "I guess whatever is reasonable", before adding that the restraint should stop once the subject is handcuffed and no longer resisting.
Chauvin is currently facing charges of second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter, CBS News reports, with the possibility of a 40-year prison sentence if found guilt of the most serious charge.
He has pleaded not guilty.