Bystander video of the confrontation is expected to be a key exhibit at trial, with opening statements set for Monday, March 29, 2021.
(Hennepin County Sheriff's Office via AP, File)MINNEAPOLIS โ National civil rights leaders appeared alongside several family members of George Floyd at a prayer service Sunday night, hours before opening statements were set to begin in the murder trial of the former Minneapolis police officer charged in his death.
Several dozen attendees congregated in the benches at Greater Friendship Missionary Church, where preachers led worship, a choir sang and members of George Floyd's family were joined by the Rev.
The speakers called for justice in George Floyd's death, mirroring the words spoken by leaders during a protest earlier Sunday in downtown Minneapolis.
George Floyd, who was Black, was declared dead on May 25 after Chauvin, who is white, pressed his knee on George Floydโs neck for about nine minutes while George Floyd was handcuffed and pleading that he couldnโt breathe.