Cashier tells of his sense of guilt and disbelief over the ‘avoidable’ death of George Floyd

The cashier who served George Floyd shortly before his death said the 46-year-old was friendly, but appeared to be “high” as he described the “disbelief and guilt” he felt over his fatal arrest.

Christopher Martin (19), told how his encounter with Mr Floyd in Minneapolis last May led to the unarmed black man being pinned to the ground by Derek Chauvin, the white former police officer charged with his murder.

Mr Martin was testifying on the third day of Mr Chauvin’s trial for second-degree murder and manslaughter and third-degree murder.

He is the latest witness to describe to the court his horror at watching Mr Chauvin kneeling on Mr Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes, a scene that set off global protests against police brutality and racial injustice.

Yesterday the court heard a detailed account of the events leading up to Mr Floyd’s arrest for allegedly using a counterfeit $20 bill to buy cigarettes.

Mr Martin told the court that Mr Floyd had been “friendly and approachable” as he served him in the Cup Foods store on May 25.

“But it kind of took him a little long to get to what he was trying to say, so it would appear that he was high,” he said.

CCTV footage of Mr Floyd in the shop showed him smiling and making cheerful conversation, at one point putting his arm around a female friend.

Mr Martin said he immediately recognised the $20 that Mr Floyd paid with as a forgery, but accepted it and initially planned to just put the bill on his “tab”.

But he changed his mind and told a manager, who sent him outside to ask Mr Floyd to return to the store. Mr Floyd refused and police were called.

Mr Martin said he immediately regretted the incident and watched the officers’ behaviour with “disbelief and guilt”.

The teenager, who is black, said: “I was standing there on the kerb, and I was just like, they’re not going to help him. This is what we have to deal with.”

Mr Martin said he witnessed another officer on the scene, Tou Thao, push another shop worker as he approached the spot where Mr Chauvin was kneeling on Mr Floyd’s neck. CCTV from the scene showed Mr Thao pushing the man twice.

Asked  if Mr Martin saw his colleague touch Mr Thao at any point, he replied: “No”.

Mr Martin said he had filmed Mr Floyd’s arrest on his phone, but deleted it when he watched an ambulance take Mr Floyd away and concluded he was dead. “I just didn’t want to have to show it [the footage] to anyone,” he said.

He said he quit his job after the incident because he did not feel safe.

Prosecutors have called a number of witnesses to testify in an attempt to undercut the defence argument that Mr Chauvin and the other officers were facing an angry mob which distracted them from Mr Floyd’s condition.

Mr Chauvin’s lawyer, Eric Nelson, has argued that the former officer was following police training and that Mr Floyd’s death was caused by a combination of drugs in his system and underlying heart problems.

Outside the court, protesters held an all-night demonstration to call attention to the urgent need for police reform.

Grace Busse, a 22-year-old student, said she was there to “keep the focus on social justice reform” as well as Mr Chauvin’s trial.

 

 

Telegraph Media Group Limited [2021]