‘Felt sorry for not doing more,’ say witnesses to George Floyd’s death

"There have been nights I stayed up apologizing to George Floyd for not doing more, not physically interacting and not doing more,” testified Darnella Frazier (age 18) in the trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin (age 45) charged in the death of George Floyd by pressing his knee on the man’s neck. Witnesses attending the second trial held at the Hennepin County court in Minnesota recalled the situation with great pain, according to CNN.

Frazier, who was 17 at that time, photographed Floyd’s death with her phone and posted the footage on social media. The video triggered protests across the US under the slogan of ‘Black Lives Matter’. "When I look at George Floyd I look at my dad, my brother, my uncle because they are all Black. I look at that and I look at how that could be one of them," Frazier said as she began to audibly cry.

A nine-year-old girl was also present at the trial. She was not televised, only her voice was broadcasted live. "I was sad and kind of mad," the girl testified. "Because it felt like he was stopping his breathing, and it was kind of like hurting him.

Six witnesses attended the trial, four of whom were minors under 18 years old. “Testimonies of young witnesses full of sadness and anger deeply moved the hearts of American people. Their tears revealed that they were also victims of the incident,” reported The New York Times.


Min Kim kimmin@donga.com