Derek Chauvin is on trial for George Floyd’s death: Live coverage

Minneapolis Police Lt. Johnny Mercil, a use-of-force instructor, testified that he did not observe former officer Derek Chauvin use a chokehold on George Floyd. 

Mercil told defense attorney Eric Nelson that he has trained hundreds of officers on how to use a neck restraint, which he said is defined as “constricting the sides of a person’s neck.” 

Mercil said “it depends” when asked how much pressure it takes to make someone unconscious. 

Factors include “the size of the person, your skill, whether they’re on narcotics or not, whether they’re having an adrenaline rush, heart rate, general physical health — there’s just a lot of factors involved,” he said. 

Mercil said someone does not necessarily need to apply a lot of pressure over a long period of time to make someone unconscious. 

Based on his experience, it takes “under 10 seconds” to render someone unconscious using a neck restraint.