Defense finale: Chauvin’s heart small, in wrong place

MINNEAPOLIS— In rebuttal closing arguments, prosecutor Jerry Blackwell disputed defense arguments that police officer Derek Chauvin’s actions were affected by the rising tension with bystanders as he subdued Floyd. Blackwell noted the crowd was fewer than a dozen persons, some of them children.  With Chauvin were “grown men” police officers, Blackwell said . None of the police officers were sufficiently frightened to call for backup, Blackwell said. The officers were in complete control of Floyd and the situation, Blackwell said. About Chauvin, he said, “He had the bullets, the guns, the Mace” with which  to respond to bystanders if indeed he felt threatened. Blackwell cited expert testimony that Floyd’s heart, although enlarged and not a perfect specimen, was not the cause of death that Chauvin’s attorney suggested. Blackwell’s rebuttal was full of rhetorical flourishes. To the jury, Blackwell wound up: “You were told, for example, that Mr. Floyd died because his heart was too big. The truth of the matter is that the reason George Floyd is dead is because Mr. Chauvin’s heart was too small.”

Earlier: Chauvin’s defense: His use of force “reasonable”