I think they'll have to convict him on a lesser charge or declare a mistrial. He was doing exactly as he was trained. If anyone is responsible for Floyd's death (other than himself) it should be the mayor and police chief who instituted and approved of the neck kneeling. It's worth noting that both of them threw Chauvin under the bus within hours after basically no investigations.

If Chauvin gets more than 12.5 years, then we know there is no justice. Mohamed Noor shot and killed Justine Damond and only got 12.5 years. Noor was violating every possible procedure in his shooting and Damond and he was convicted less than a year before the whole Floyd thing happened. Also, she wasn't a multiple time convicted criminal like Floyd, she wasn't caught committing a crime like Floyd, she was much smaller than the officers unlike Floyd, and she wasn't in a state of cognitive impairment unlike Floyd. Considering they both happened in Minneapolis, Chauvin's actions are way less actionable than Noor's. If we believe Chauvin was 100% responsible for Floyd's death, which he's not, he should still only get three or so years when compared with the sentence given to Noor.

I agree that he will likely get a lesser charge.

I just fear that no matter the outcome it will reignite additional protests and more violence from those that will ignore the evidence of why Chauvin wasn't found guilty of murder and how actions Floyd took also contributed to his own death.

I'm sure jurors will hear the 911 call where the cashier called the cops about the counterfeit money and how he believed Floyd was intoxicated. I'm sure they'll see the toxicology reports.

The only thing the MSM has shown the public is the photos or short videos of Chauvin with his knee on Floyd's neck. But not the video of Floyd freaking out when being arrested and requesting to lay down on the pavement.

Someone as high as he was should never be placed face down on the ground. People should be put into the recovery position on their sides, and I think more places are taking that into consideration now.

BUT, that doesn't mean what Chauvin did was against policy... though a knee to the back between shoulder blades would have likely caused the same outcome for Floyd. "Sudden In Custody Death Syndrome" is a real thing and some LEO do rapid assessments on suspects to gauge the level of risk they are. Factors such as age, weight, gender, drug use or intoxication, if force was used or not, etc all contribute to a point scale where the risk of death from being taken into custody becomes a greater concern. Same training will show that a restrained suspect on the ground should be in a recovery position on their side. If you take a 300lb man fucked up on pills, who resisted arrest and failed to comply, and you lay that man face down on the ground his risk of just dying while just laying there is much higher than a fit man, who complied, and is calm. That is the purpose of the whole point system scale to determine risk of death in custody.

Also, if Chauvin goes to prison he should be in Protective Custody. He'd be the target of every black prison gang, either new recruit initiation or just killed just because he's high profile ex law enforcement. Where I am, any ex law enforcement goes to PC, same with child molestors. They're the first targets in gang initiations inside prison and if put in general population are considered good targets for gang probates to prove they're willing to draw blood for their gang by attacking someone that no other gang gives a shit about.

The guy is fucked. I don't think he "murdered" him but he'll do time. Minneapolis will burn anyways because the mob will want him put away for life and he'll get probably get up to 10 years on some lesser charge. Floyd was a big piece of shit but in the ideal world he would have been arrested properly and then he could have gone to court to be sentenced for yet another crime.

I'm not sure they'll find Floyd's past relevant in the case. When he robbed that pregnant lady at gun point and held the gun to her belly / baby that was in Texas, I think. I know he was arrested in Minneapolis a couple years prior to the Chauvin thing. Was a passenger in a vehicle with no plates/tags, and when pulled over was caught on body camera trying to swallow a bunch of pills, pills that they also found in his seat. Not sure if there is anything else in his past beyond those two things.

I'm not certain those things will be brought up during the trial unless it is used to prove Chauvin was aware of Floyd or due to his previous violent offense (armed robbery and threatening a pregnant lady with a gun) that Chauvin felt that additional restraint was needed... or something.

Pretty sure all LEO get your info from all states when they run your ID anyway now that I think about it so it's possible that they knew that they had a previous violent felon in their custody and took measures that are now seen as excessive whereas they wouldn't had everything come back clear. Who knows?

People should be put into the recovery position on their sides

As a former EMT I know this can't be done with a cuffed suspect. Given his altered state of consciousness, he was an immediate danger to himself and the bystanders around him. Therefore, he could not be released from the cuffs either. Ambulances have soft restraints that they can use to restrain a suspect to the stretcher, but little could be done until the ambulance arrived.

a knee to the back between shoulder blades

Pressure on the chest cavity can absolutely impede breathing in a weak or sedated individual. As long as there is no previous neck trauma, knee on neck, as Chauvin did, is not life threatening. It's super uncomfortable and can lead to non-life threatening neck trauma.

"Sudden In Custody Death Syndrome"

Most people have never been restrained in their adult life. Some people freak out to the point of unconsciousness just from being placed in cuffs. This even happens to people who were calm right up to the instant of being cuffed. If the person had drugs in them or heart problems then it can definitely be fatal. However, Floyd served time in prison, so he should have been able to handle being cuffed.

All good points.