By Laura French
MINNEAPOLIS — Three on-duty first responders who treated George Floyd on the day he died testified at the murder trial of Derek Chauvin on Thursday.
Hennepin County EMS Paramedic Seth Bravinder testified that he and his partner Paramedic Derek Smith initially received a Code 2 call on May 25, 2020, for a person with a mouth injury, which was then upgraded about 90 seconds later to a Code 3, according to the Associated Press.
Upon arrival at the scene, Bravinder said he didn’t see Floyd breathing or moving and that he appeared to be in cardiac arrest. Smith testified that he checked for a pulse and did not find one, saying, “In layman’s terms? I thought he was dead,” according to the AP.
Bravinder said Floyd was loaded into the ambulance so the crew could move him to an “optimum environment” and away from the “crowd of people that appeared very upset on the sidewalk,” according to the AP. Smith described seeing several people with their cell phones out and said, “it didn’t feel like a welcoming environment.”
Blavinder testified he drove the rig three blocks away then got into the back to assist Smith in treating Floyd. He said a monitor showed that Floyd did not have a heartbeat, and said Floyd never regained a pulse.
One of the officers from the scene, Thomas Lane, also went into the back of the ambulance to assist with resuscitation efforts, and images from Lane’s bodyworn camera were shown during the paramedics’ testimony, according to KSTP. Images showed a LUCAS device being placed on Floyd, Blavinder inserting an airway device and Smith starting an IV.
Members of the Minneapolis Fire Department also assisted with ventilation and preparing medications after meeting up with the ambulance crew.
[Watch: Video: Off-duty FF pleads with Minneapolis police to assess George Floyd]
Minneapolis Fire Capt. Jeremy Norton described how his crew initially responded to the original scene after the ambulance crew had already left. While trying to locate the patient, the firefighters spoke with off-duty Minneapolis Firefighter-EMT Genevieve Hansen, who told them what she had witnessed and appeared to Norton to be “agitated and distraught,” according to KSTP.
After an officer told them that the paramedics had left, Norton and his partner met up with the ambulance crew and saw that Floyd was unresponsive and resuscitation efforts were underway. Norton added that when he realized the severity of Floyd’s condition, he understood why Hansen was so upset and sent a crew to the original scene to check on her.
Norton also testified that he notified his superiors that “a man was killed in police custody” and that an off-duty firefighter was a witness in the incident, according to KSTP.
Chauvin, a former Minneapolis police officer, is charged with murder and manslaughter in Floyd’s death. Hansen testified earlier this week about not being allowed to render aid to Floyd.