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Who is Shawanda Hill? George Floyd's friend says he was 'alert' but slept in his car just before his arrest

Floyd told Hill he was "tired because he had been working" but was alert when he met her and showed no signs of heart or breathing problems. Defense attorney Eric Nelson was trying to establish that the cause of death was drug use and heart problems, not Chauvin's actions on the day
PUBLISHED APR 14, 2021
Shawanda Hill, a close friend of George Floyd, gave her testimony in court on April 13 (Getty Images)
Shawanda Hill, a close friend of George Floyd, gave her testimony in court on April 13 (Getty Images)

Shawanda Hill was with George Floyd when Minneapolis Police Department officers approached him because he used a fake $20 bill. Hill was called to testify in court during the murder trial of Derek Chauvin, who has been charged with the death of the 46-year-old African-American man.

As per reports, Hill and Floyd were close friends. When the Black man was approached and arrested by police on May 25, 2020, Hill was present there along with another friend Maurice Hall. Floyd’s girlfriend Courteney Ross has said that Hill used to sell them heroin and they used to buy opioids from Hall. Ross also alleged that in the past Floyd was suffering from opioid addiction and had again started taking it two weeks before the tragedy.

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During her testimony, Hill told the jurors that Floyd was alert when she met him at Cup Foods. He also offered her to give a lift. However, after they entered the car, Hill got a call from her daughter while Floyd fell asleep. The woman said he tried to wake him up, but he again went to sleep.

A portrait of George Floyd hangs on the fencing outside the Hennepin County Government Center on April 1, 2021 in Minneapolis, Minnesota (Getty Images)

Hill was called to testify on Tuesday, April 13, where defense attorney Eric Nelson tried to prove the point that Floyd had taken sleep-inducing opioids on the day of death. He is repeatedly trying to establish that the cause of death of the father-of-one is drug use and heart problems, not Chauvin allegedly kneeling on his neck for over nine minutes despite Floyd complaining that he can’t breathe.

Hill also said that when cops approached the vehicle, one officer "had the gun on the window" of the car. She woke up Floyd again. Seeing the officers, he allegedly said "please please don't kill me, please don't shoot me. What did I do? Just tell me what I did please, please.” Hill was then questioned by the prosecution team, who asked her if Floyd appeared shocked when cops confronted him, she said, “very” while nodding her head.

According to reports, Hill’s statement, however, did not prove very helpful for the defense since she also told the court that Floyd “already told me in the store that he was tired because he had been working—”. She claimed that he showed no signs of heart or breathing problems before he was taken into custody by cops.

Hill’s testimony came after forensic toxicologist Daniel Isenschmid, who testified for the prosecution, said on Thursday, April 8, that Floyd’s “low level” of fentanyl did not contribute to his death. Isenschmid, a forensic toxicologist for the NMS Labs in Pennsylvania, told the court that after being asked by the Hennepin County Medical Examiner's office to test the blood of Floyd the night he died, he examined it and found 11 nanograms of fentanyl per milliliter and 19 nanograms of methamphetamine per milliliter in his body.

A portrait of George Floyd stands outside Dogwood Coffee on March 31, 2021 in Minneapolis, Minnesota (Getty Images)

He also said that the man had 5.6 nanograms of norfentanyl, or metabolize fentanyl, and traces of caffeine and THC, the main psychoactive compound in marijuana in his body. However, Isenschmid, a forensic toxicologist for the NMS Labs in Pennsylvania, added that the discovery of fentanyl and methamphetamine in Floyd’s blood did not contribute to his death as it was lesser than levels found in 94% of DUI cases.

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