I think compressing a man’s neck for two and a half minutes after he becomes unresponsive is by definition excessive force and depraved indifference to life.
Derek Chauvin was a police officer for nearly 20 years. He has had first responder training. He has seen people lose consciousness and die before.
I do not think he intended to kill Floyd. But it seems impossible that he did not realize that Floyd had become unconscious and that he had the duty to render assistance
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But what if his death was caused by something other than the police officers’ using the force they did? Nobody knows all the facts. My gut is that the victim was on drugs or had swallowed drugs. As bizarre as it may sound, when I watched the video I did not get the sense that Mr. Floyd could not breathe. He was engaged in a conversation with his friend on the sidewalk. My antennas really went up when I saw that the autopsy was inconclusive and the medical examiner ordered more Tests. Stay tuned. I am open minded.
Fine, suppose Floyd had a cardiac event because he took PCP.
When someone becomes unresponsive, you roll him on his back, check for a pulse, start CPR, get the defibrillator and oxygen out of the squad car.
You do not keep kneeling on a dying man’s neck. Chauvin was a cop long enough to recognize unresponsiveness.
An old principle of law: you take your victim as you find him. Punch a little old man in the belly to rob him and he dies of a heart attack, you have just committed homicide. Kneel on the neck of a man who is telling you he is having difficulty breathing, keep on doing that after he loses consciousness. A jury would reasonably find your actions contributed to his death, especially if you have an affirmative duty to act: i.e. you are an officer with the man in your custody and control.
drug tests will take longer to come back.