united-states police
How should a law abiding police officer have handled George Floyd?
<p>Everywhere I read says Derek Chauvin case was a slam dunk. Now that he is convicted, there is even less room to argue he was following the law when he handled George Floyd. But considering the US police militarization and the way they usually handle civilians, and my lack of knowledge of police protocol, for me it is hard to see how any other police officer, with the same training as Derek Chauvin, would have done much different so it would not have risked killing the detainee.</p>
<p>Thus, my question: how a law abiding police officer should have handled George Floyd differently?</p>

<p>The most obvious answer is that he should have knelt on his <em>lower</em> back, not on his <em>neck</em>.
And this should not be maintained for an extended period, only until appropriate restraints (e.g. handcuffs) can be applied.</p>
<p>The proper use of force is to put the other person in a situation where it will hurt them <em>if and only if they resist</em>.</p>
<p>For comparison, consider this amazing 2018 take-down:
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOW05IVejNE&amp;ab_channel=CBCNews" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Toronto van attack: Witness video of takedown of person believed to be suspect - YouTube</a></p>
<p>And keep in mind that this individual hadn't simply tried to pass counterfeit money in a convenience store; he'd just been on a rampage that killed 10 people and seriously injured 16 others: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAlTU2Xpq_I&amp;ab_channel=TorontoStar" rel="nofollow noreferrer">New footage revealed from Yonge St. van attack of Alek Minassian’s path of destruction - YouTube</a></p>
<p>— <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toronto_van_attack" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Toronto van attack - Wikipedia</a></p>

<p>To answer the question &quot;Where, exactly, in Chauvin's interaction with George Floyd, his actions became second-degree murder material?&quot;</p>
<p>The judge decided that how George Floyd was treated, had he not died, would have been assault, therefore a felony. So George Floyd died as the result of a felony. And if someone dies as the result of a felony, even if the death wasn't intended, that's second degree murder. So it's a combination of two things: Treating a suspect in a way that constitutes a felony of assault, plus the death of that suspect caused by the assault.</p>
<p>The prosecutor assumed that intent to kill him wouldn't be possible to prove, therefore Chauvin wasn't accused of first degree murder, but only of second agree murder.</p>
<p>What most likely actually killed George Floyd was that when he passed out, Chauvin put pressure on him for three more minutes, while Floyd couldn't do anything, possibly not even breathe. So you can also say that stopping an unconscious man from breathing, when it would have been Chauvin's duty to get medical attention, turned it into murder.</p>
