CHAUVIN TRIAL: Minneapolis Firefighter Recalls Pleading to Help
The second day of the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin included emotional witness testimony from the off-duty firefighter at the scene May 25, who recounted begging the four officers atop George Floyd to check his pulse.
Genevieve Hansen, 27, was a rookie firefighter—with about a year experience at the time—when she was taking a walk that night. She stopped at a community garden before hearing some commotion in the area of E. 38th St. & Chicago Ave.
Hansen came upon the scene of George Floyd being pinned by officers outside Cup Foods and she said she quickly started recording video of the incident and identified herself to officers as a firefighter. Officer Tou Thao, seen in Hansen’s video shown in court, rebuked her attempts at providing medical attention to Floyd.
The prosecution team spent time laying out Hansen’s medical credentials. She said the majority of the calls she responds to in her job as a firefighter are medical incidents, and she's administered CPR "many times." She encounters a person overdosing several times per shift, she told Assistant Attorney General Matthew Frank.
Hansen said she was "desperate" to help Floyd as she saw him on the ground and that the other officers barred her from intervening. As she continued on the witness stand Tuesday afternoon, Hansen broke down in tears on the stand and said she's "totally distressed."
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She was able to continue with questioning, but a tense exchange between Hansen, Judge Peter Cahill and defense attorney Eric Nelson prompted Cahill to send Hansen home, warning her not to "argue" with the court. She is set to be questioned Wednesday as the trial continues.