by WorldTribune Staff, November 24, 2025 Real World News

Defense attorneys for Derek Chauvin have filed a new petition that challenges the 2021 murder conviction that sent the former Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) officer to prison over George Floyd’s death.

More than 50 former and current MPD officers made sworn declarations that the technique Chauvin used to restrain Floyd was part of the official training they received.

The 71-page petition was sent to Hennepin County District Court, where Attorney Greg Joseph stated that “this case simply never made sense.”

The petition asserts that the case involves two key issues: intent and causation. Did the restraint of Floyd follow policies and procedures of the MPD; and, did the restraint cause Floyd’s death.

During Chauvin’s trial, MPD officials denied the specific restraint used by Chauvin was part of the department’s training.

In speaking about the prosecution – and what he believes was the false testimony of MPD Inspector Katie Blackwell, Chief Medaria Arradondo, and others during Chauvin’s trial – Joseph told Alpha News: “You can only run from the truth for so long.”

Zero Hedge noted: “If Chauvin was simply applying restraint techniques that he was trained by the MPD to use then he cannot be held accountable for any potential ill effects that the technique causes. The point is of course moot if the restraint had nothing to do with George Floyd’s death.”

Related: Derek Chauvin’s final appeal? The U.S. Supreme Court opts for expedience, December 26, 2023

The petition argues that the methods used to examine video footage of Floyd’s restraint and arrest by an “expert” witness for the prosecution are at odds with the methods used by the medical examiner, Dr. Andrew Baker, the only doctor who conducted an actual autopsy of Floyd.

Baker did in fact blame the subduing of Floyd as the ultimate cause of death, even though critics have pointed out that no damage was found to Floyd that would explain the death as a homicide.

The official autopsy performed by the Hennepin County Medical Examiner found no physical trauma, fractures, or damage to Floyd’s trachea, larynx, hyoid bone, or surrounding throat structures. This included no bruising, lacerations, or other visible injuries in the neck area. The report explicitly noted “no life-threatening injuries identified” to the neck muscles, cartilage, bones, or soft tissues.

The autopsy said that Floyd died of severe heart disease that was “complicated” by the arrest. Baker had told the jury “that he had certified deaths due to atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease under similar conditions.”

The petition seeks to vacate Chauvin’s conviction, or obtain a new trial, arguing that Chauvin “was deprived of his right to due process under the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and Article I of the Minnesota Constitution.”

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  50 Minneapolis officers say restraint technique used by Chauvin on George Floyd was part of training, WorldTribune.com