Daily KMAland COVID-19 Update: Thursday, April 8th, 2021

A forensic scientist testified in the trial of Derek Chauvin Wednesday that she found George Floyd's blood and pills with Floyd's DNA in the squad car where Floyd struggled with officers. Chauvin, who was seen in disturbing videos kneeling on Floyd's neck for more than nine minutes, is charged with second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.

McKenzie Anderson, a crime scene team leader with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, testified that she photographed but didn't collect the pills when she first processed the squad car in May 2020. She also found two pills in the car Floyd was driving when she processed it at the same time. She said she re-processed the squad car at the request of the defense team in January 2021 and collected and tested the pills found in the back seat, confirming they contained Floyd's saliva.

http://a-nine.jp/www/Video-v-Masters-Golf-tbs-cast-jp01.html

http://a-nine.jp/www/videos-m-v-g-jp-tv04.html

http://a-nine.jp/www/Video-v-Masters-Golf-tv-cast-jp-TBS.html

http://a-nine.jp/www/Video-masters-golf-jp-liv-tv3.html

Brehana Giles, a chemist with the Minnesota state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, then took the stand. She said her testing found that the pills in the squad car contained methamphetamine and potential other substances she could not identify. Prosecutors then called Susan Neith, a forensic chemist based in Pennsylvania who also tested the pills. Neith testified she was able to identify fentanyl as well as methamphetamine in the pills found in the squad car, but she said the methamphetamine level was much lower than typical street meth.

Both chemists found that the pills in the car Floyd was driving contained both methamphetamine and fentanyl, and were marked to look like pharmaceutical drugs. Court recessed for the day following their testimony.

The testimony is significant because the defense has suggested that Floyd, who suffered from heart disease, died of a heart arrhythmia brought on by drugs he ingested and adrenaline. The prosecution argues Floyd died of oxygen deprivation beneath the pressure of Chauvin's knee. 

Earlier, LAPD Sergeant Jody Stiger, a prosecution expert in tactics and de-escalation training, testified that Chauvin used deadly force against Floyd. Stiger testified he believed no force was necessary once Floyd was handcuffed, on the ground and no longer resisting.

Stiger testified Tuesday that in his view, officers used excessive force against Floyd during the fatal arrest on May 25, 2020.

"My opinion was the force was excessive," Stiger said.

Stiger told prosecutors he did not believe the crowd of onlookers to pose a threat to officers during the incident, "because they were merely filming, and most of it was their concern for Mr. Floyd." Defense attorney Eric Nelson has attempted to portray the crowd as unruly.

But on cross-examination by Nelson, Stiger acknowledged some of the name-calling and aggressive statements by the crowd could be perceived as a threat.

Chauvin has pleaded not guilty. The other three officers involved are charged with aiding and abetting, and are expected to be tried jointly in August.

 6:05 PM / APRIL 7, 2021
Forensic chemist: Methamphetamine levels were low in pills found in cars
Prosecutors called Susan Neith, a forensic chemist based in Pennsylvania who also tested the pills found in the two vehicles, to the stand. Neith testified she was able to detect both methamphetamine and fentanyl in the pills found in the SUV Floyd was driving and in the police squad car.

Neith testified the amount of fentanyl she detected in the pills was about the same as other street fentanyl pills she has tested. But she said the level of methamphetamine was much lower, ranging from 1.9% to 2.9% purity. She said recreational street meth typically is 90-100% purity. 

Brehana Giles, a chemist with the Minnesota state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, testified Wednesday she tested the two pills with pharmaceutical markings found in the center console of the vehicle Floyd was driving. When she looked up the markings of the pills, it indicated they contained oxycodone and acetaminophen, but upon testing found they contained methamphetamine and fentanyl. She agreed homemade pills can sometimes be given pharmaceutical markings to make them appear legitimate.

Giles testified she also tested the pills and portions of pills found in the back seat of the squad car, which she found contained methamphetamine. 

On cross-examination from defense attorney Eric Nelson, Giles testified there were indications of other substances in the pills found in the squad car, but she couldn't speak to what they were. 

Giles said she "could not confirm" whether the pills might have also contained fentanyl.  

Forensic scientist: Pill with George Floyd's DNA found in squad car
Prosecutor Matthew Frank displayed a series of photographs forensic scientist McKenzie Anderson took when initially processing the vehicle George Floyd was driving and the police squad car where the struggle took place in May.

Looking at pictures she took of the inside of the Mercedez-Benz SUV Floyd was driving, Anderson pointed out what appeared to be a pill in the center console. Anderson said she again processed the SUV in December 2020 at the request of prosecutors and collected additional items including pills and the prescription medication Suboxone from the car. Anderson said she collected two pills and two packages of Suboxone, a drug prescribed to help people suffering from opioid addiction.

Anderson then went through a series of photos she took when processing the police squad. She noted what appeared to be a pill on the floor of the vehicle's back seat. Anderson said she didn't collect the item at the time because she didn't know the case involved drugs and wasn't sure if the item had come off of someone's shoe.

"I didn't give it any forensic significance given the information I had," she said.

Later, Anderson said she re-processed the squad car in January 2021 at the request of the defense team and collected the pill, along with several other pieces of what may have been pills that were also in the squad's back seat.

Anderson said she tested one of the pills in the squad car and identified that it had saliva on it that matched Floyd's DNA. 

Anderson also described finding blood in the back seat of the squad car that also matched George Floyd's DNA profile.

McKenzie Anderson, a Bureau of Criminal Apprehension crime scene team leader, described responding to the scene of 38th and Chicago, the site of Floyd's fatal arrest. She said she noticed several security cameras in the area, and searched the street near the squad car where officers had earlier struggled with Floyd. 

mckenzie-anderson.jpg 
Forensic scientist McKenzie Anderson testifies in the trial of Derek Chauvin.
COURT TV/POOL VIA WCCO
She said there was no evidence collected from the scene. She said the squad car and the vehicle Floyd was driving were both towed to the bureau's headquarters to be processed.

She said she processed both vehicles on May 27, 2020 — two days after Floyd's death —along with an agent and another crime scene team member, first by photographing the interior and exterior of the cars, and then by going through items in the car and marking them for collection.

https://urologyri.com/log/video-masters-2021-liv-tv-us-gol31-00.html
https://urologyri.com/log/video-Mas-v-Tou-direct-fr-tv01.html
https://urologyri.com/log/video-Mas-v-Tou-direct-fr-tv02.html
https://urologyri.com/log/videos-m-v-g-jp-tv04.html
https://urologyri.com/log/videos-T-v-M-21-rv.05.html
https://urologyri.com/log/video-the-v-master-yfdd04-00.html
https://urologyri.com/log/video-the-v-master-yfdd0005.html
https://urologyri.com/log/video-T-v-M-2021-rv06.html
https://urologyri.com/log/Video-v-Masters-Golf-tbs-cast-jp01.html
https://urologyri.com/log/Video-masters-golf-jp-liv-tv3.html
https://urologyri.com/log/Video-v-Masters-Golf-tv-cast-jp-TBS.html
http://ahpweb.org/wpe/video-masters-2021-liv-tv-us-gol31-00.html
http://ahpweb.org/wpe/video-Mas-v-Tou-direct-fr-tv01.html
http://ahpweb.org/wpe/video-Mas-v-Tou-direct-fr-tv02.html
http://ahpweb.org/wpe/videos-m-v-g-jp-tv04.html
http://ahpweb.org/wpe/videos-T-v-M-21-rv.05.html
http://ahpweb.org/wpe/video-the-v-master-yfdd04-00.html
http://ahpweb.org/wpe/video-the-v-master-yfdd0005.html
http://ahpweb.org/wpe/video-T-v-M-2021-rv06.html
http://ahpweb.org/wpe/Video-v-Masters-Golf-tbs-cast-jp01.html
http://a-nine.jp/www/Video-v-Masters-Golf-tbs-cast-jp01.html
http://a-nine.jp/www/videos-m-v-g-jp-tv04.html
http://a-nine.jp/www/Video-v-Masters-Golf-tv-cast-jp-TBS.html
http://a-nine.jp/www/Video-masters-golf-jp-liv-tv3.html

Anderson said she didn't have information at the time that Floyd may have been under the influence of drugs.

Back on the stand after a short break, Reyerson said he had reviewed a longer portion of the body camera video in which he earlier agreed Floyd appeared to say, "I ate too many drugs." Prosecutor Matthew Frank played the longer portion of the bodycam video in court, during which an officer can be heard saying, "I believe so, we found a pipe on him." 

Based on the statements made in the video beforehand, Reyerson amended his earlier testimony, saying he believes Floyd said, "I ain't do no drugs."

On cross-examination, defense attorney Eric Nelson played a short portion of police body camera video and asked Special Agent James Reyerson whether it appeared Floyd said, "I ate too many drugs." Reyerson said it did. On re-direct questioning by prosecutor Matthew Frank, Reyerson said he had not heard what Floyd might have said beforehand. Floyd's voice in that portion of the video was muffled and hard to understand.

Earlier, Nelson asked whether it's typical and permissible for defense attorneys to ask to review evidence under review by state investigators, and Reyerson agreed it was. Reyerson confirmed that when he said the defense team asked to have the squad car re-processed in January 2021, he was not implying the defense team placed pieces of pills inside the vehicle.

Reyerson was also questioned about a trail of liquid on the ground at the scene, and told Nelson it appeared to be condensation from the squad car, rather than Floyd's urine. A firefighter had earlier testified she believed Floyd may have urinated while being restrained.

Reyerson said the state crime scene team re-processed Floyd's vehicle in December 2020 at the request of prosecutors, and later also re-processed the police squad car at the request of the defense. Defense attorney Eric Nelson has said the defense team discovered pills with Floyd's DNA inside the squad that had not previously been uncovered by investigators. Prosecutor Matthew Frank didn't ask Reyerson what was found inside the vehicle, but indicated another state investigator would testify about re-processing the squad.

Frank then played a portion of the police body camera video showing Chauvin restraining Floyd. Reyerson said it appears Chauvin's left knee was on the back of Floyd's neck, and his right knee was on Floyd's back.