MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Kneeling on George Floyd's neck while he was handcuffed and in the prone position was "top-tier, deadly force" and "totally unnecessary," the head of the Minneapolis Police Department's homicide division testified Friday.
"If your knee is on a person's neck, that can kill him," said Lt. Richard Zimmerman, adding that when a person is handcuffed in the prone position, "your muscles are pulling back ... and if you're laying on your chest, that's constricting your breathing even more."
Zimmerman also testified at Derek Chauvin's murder trial that once Floyd was handcuffed, he saw "no reason for why the officers felt they were in danger, if that's what they felt, and that's what they would have to feel to be able to use that kind of force."
"So in your opinion, should that restraint have stopped once he was handcuffed and thrown on the ground?" Prosecutor Matthew Frank asked.
"Absolutely," Zimmerman replied.