James D. Reyerson of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension testified on Wednesday, offering a view of George Floyd’s death by an officer investigating her.
In testimony that rekindled questions about Mr. Floyd’s drug use, Mr. Reyerson, a special agent, first agreed with defense attorney for Derek Chauvin that Mr. Floyd appeared to have shouted “J ‘ate too many drugs’ while he was handcuffed to the ground.
But later, when questioned by a prosecutor and shown a longer video clip, Mr Reyerson changed his conclusion, saying he believed Mr Floyd had in fact shouted, “I’m not doing drugs.”
Another expert, Sgt. Jody Stiger of the Los Angeles Police Department said in earlier testimony that it was not clear to him what Mr. Floyd said at the time and that the audio was difficult to understand. Prosecutors spent a significant amount of time during their presentation dealing with defense claims that the fentanyl and methamphetamine found in Mr. Floyd’s system led to his death.
Mr. Reyerson described his own career in law enforcement, which included work for the Drug Enforcement Administration and the New York Police Department. He recounted the night Mr. Floyd died, when he was called to investigate and arrived at Minneapolis city hall with other officers. He photographed Mr. Chauvin that night and began collecting videos of the scene and audio of a 911 call.
Mr Reyerson said his agency prepared 440 reports during the investigation into Mr Floyd’s death.
