Who is Genevieve Hansen? Minneapolis firefighter, 27, was 'desperate' to help George Floyd but cops stopped her
During the second day of Derek Chauvin’s trial, a 27-year-old Minneapolis firefighter, Genevieve Hansen said that she begged and was “desperate” to help George Floyd when he was struggling to breathe, but the officers didn’t allow her to do it. She broke down as she detailed the harrowing details from the incident and claimed that the officers did not acknowledge her despite identifying herself as a firefighter who could offer medical assistance.
Hansen, who reportedly was among the bystanders, said, "I could have given medical assistance, and that's exactly what I should have done.” But, she couldn’t “because the officers didn't let [her] on the scene."
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Hansen said she was off-duty and was going for a walk on May 25, when she heard a woman “screaming that they were killing him." She moved closer as she was concerned about “a handcuffed man who was not moving with officers with their whole body weight on their back and a crowd that was stressed out."
The firefighter testified that she tried “persuading” the officer using different tactics, but they wouldn’t listen to her. She said she went from being “calm and reasoning” and “assertive" to being pleading and "desperate."
The video played at the trial, reportedly heard her repeatedly yelling at the officers and pleading to have a look at Floyd’s pulse.
Hansen was ‘desperate” to help
An emotional Hansen said she saw Floyd’s face “smooshed into the ground” and it appeared “puffy and swollen, which would happen if you were putting a grown man’s weight on someone’s neck." And when she offered help, she claimed one of the officers said “something along the lines of ‘If you really are a Minneapolis firefighter, you would know better than to get involved.’"
She wanted to use her medical knowledge to offer additional after checking for airway obstructions and pulse.
Hansen reportedly called 911, saying, “I literally watched police officers not take a pulse and not do anything to save a man." She also said “things calmed down” after she called 911, but she wished she did it sooner.
She was ‘frustrated
When prosecutor Matthew Frank asked her in the court if she was “frustrated”, Hansen said, "Yes. I was desperate to help. Because there’s a man being killed and ... had I had access to a call similar to that, I would have been able to provide medical attention to the best of my abilities, and this human was denied that right."
She reportedly continued staying in the scene in “disbelief” after Floyd was taken in the ambulance, as she was worried about the safety of other witnesses, especially, people of color and a Black man" in the presence of police officers.
Hansen was seen wearing her uniform at Chauvin’s trial and she was called a witness after three teenagers and a 9-year-old, who were among the onlookers on the day of the incident.