Guilty of what? He used a Department trained technique to deal with an individual in excited delirium. That technique is used thousands of times a year and suspects don’t go into Cardiac Arrest.
Bfl
Unless they are loaded up with Meth and fent and are in the middle of an overdose...
Should be a full Not Guilty. Will probably be Manslaughter, over turned on appeal.
Holding him long enough to handcuff him, yes, but not so long as to kill him. There is no excuse—bad training, anger, revenge, whatever.
Actually no. Department training and policy is to stay away from the neck whenever possible (there's no mechanical advantage to being on the neck versus the upper back) and to get a suspect seated in an upright position as soon as they are handcuffed. The reason for this is that there are numerous medical conditions that can become life-threatening when left prone with the hands restrained for long periods.
You should check out the testimony of Minneapolis Police Lt. Johnny Mercil, the use-of-force coordinator for the department. Further, you should talk with some actual use-of-force trainers. They'll tell you exactly what I'm telling you.
Keep in mind, I'm not saying Chauvin is a bad guy or that he deserves all this. I'm saying that the training is to stay off the neck and get your subject upright ASAP once restrained in order to minimize health risks. And the training is such for good reason. The problem for Chauvin is that it wouldn't matter whether he was going by the book here or not because too many are out for blood. Thankfully, he's got more reasons for appeal than just about anyone, and I'm sure that whatever happens today will have some adjustment going forward once the mob has lost interest.