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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aV4tMvr7xZY

To begin the fourth day Mr. Frank brought Floyd's girlfriend, Courteney Ross, to the witness stand. She told the story of how they met in 2017 at the Salvation Army where Floyd worked at the time. Frank used Ross to portray Floyd as a father and a "mama's boy." After Floyd's mother died in 2018, Ross said he became "a shell of himself," a "broken" man. Floyd and Ross were both opioid addicts, using their own prescriptions and other people's prescriptions to acquire Oxycodone for pain. They also purchased pills off the "streets and the black market." Despite the drug use, she said Floyd was athletic, lifting weights and playing sports a lot. She didn't hear him complain about difficulty breathing. On cross-examination Mr. Nelson asked Ross about Morries Hall, the man in red sweatpants who was sitting next to Floyd in the car. Nelson referred to a prior FBI interview in which Ross admitted that they bought pills from Hall. Ross, however, attempted to backtrack from these earlier statements, claiming she didn't recall saying them. Apparently she also had said that Floyd got heroin from Shawanda Hill, the woman in the backseat of Floyd's car that day, but in court Ross said she was only "speculating" for the FBI. Nelson asked Ross about the time Floyd overdosed on opioids in March 2020, a couple months before he died. Floyd had complained to her that his stomach hurt and then she drove him to the hospital. Also in March 2020 they bought some different pills which were a "really strong stimulant." They made her "jittery" and she "couldn't sleep all night." She told the FBI that sometimes Floyd was "up and bouncing around," other times he was "unintelligible." Nelson asked if she recalled telling the FBI that, a week before Floyd's death, she had taken some of the new pills and it "felt like she was going to die." Ross replied that now she "doesn't remember feeling that way." Nelson then mentioned that sometimes couples have pet names for each other. This made Ross smile brightly, perhaps recalling fond memories. Then he asked what was Floyd's pet name for her. Under what nickname did Floyd list her in his phone contacts? Ross' smile quickly vanished from her face. She now glared at the defense attorney and answered, "Mama." On redirect Mr. Frank felt the need to establish that Floyd also referred to his mother as "mama," but anyone with a brain scored that round for the defense. Next the prosecution called the two paramedics, Seth Bravinder and Derek Smith, who responded to the incident. They arrived on scene about six or seven minutes after being dispatched. Smith was the lead who checked Floyd's pulse and pupils. He could not detect a pulse and Floyd's pupils were large. Smith testified that he thought Floyd was dead, and that Floyd's condition never improved while they worked on him in the ambulance. They did a "load and go," driving around the block to work on Floyd, because the spot in front of Cup Foods "didn't feel like a welcoming environment," according to Smith. On cross, Nelson reiterated the point that sometimes overdose patients wake up violent, which is why police are called to assist EMS with such patients. Bravinder testified that he had personally seen overdose patients turn violent after being revived. Also when he arrived on scene he recalled seeing Floyd "primarily on his left side." Nelson also pointed out that Smith was able to check for a carotid pulse even with Chauvin still in position over Floyd, suggesting that the knee was not blood choking Floyd. During redirect of Bravinder the prosecution tried to establish that an opioid overdose would result in small pupils, but on recross Nelson asked if someone under the influence of meth could have large pupils, and Bravinder agreed. The fire captain, Jeremy Norton, also testified, but I didn't find much relevance to it, except to establish that the firefighters were dispatched a few minutes after EMS and they arrived on scene after the ambulance had already moved around the block. The final witness of the day, David Pleoger, was the police sergeant supervising the officers. He received the phone call from concerned dispatcher Jena Scurry and then called Chauvin about the use of force incident. Mr. Schleicher of the prosecution team asked Pleoger about a couple police policies. Relating to "medical assistance" the policy is "as soon as reasonably practical, determine if anyone was injured and render medical aid consistent with training." Regarding "maximal restraint technique," the policy is "if a hobble restraint device is used the person shall be placed in the side recovery position." Pleoger stated that the side recovery position helps the person breathe easier. He said that the dangers of "positional asphyxia" have been known for a long time. Pleoger concluded that after Floyd stopped moving the restraint could have ended. On cross Nelson emphasized the first part of the policy, "as soon as reasonably practical," and brought up the police's "critical decision making model," of which factors include size and state of the crowd, tactical or disadvantaged position, traffic conditions, etc. He suggested that rendering aid in a busy street might not be the best decision, and Pleoger said "right." It depends on the circumstances. Nelson also asked about the term "hold for EMS," but Pleoger said he wasn't familiar with it.

It should prove interesting to contrast Dr. Andrew Baker's eyewitness testimony of the cause of death with Dr. Michael Baden's and Dr. Alecia Wilson's later eyewitness testimony of the same. Dr. Michael Baden's eyewitness autopsy testimony regarding Michael Brown was key in establishing the fact Brown was facing, not fleeing Officer Darrin Wilson when Brown had been shot in Ferguson, Missouri back in August 2014.