MINNEAPOLIS – Prosecutors trying a white former Minneapolis police officer in George Floyd’s death put one of Floyd’s brothers on the witness stand Monday in a further effort to humanize him for the jury and counter the defense narrative that Floyd was at least partially responsible for his own death due to his use of illegal drugs.
Philonise Floyd, who has frequently occupied the Floyd family's sole seat in the socially distanced courtroom, was allowed to testify under a legal doctrine called “spark of life.” He told the jury about how they grew up poor in Houston’s Third Ward, his brother's passion for sports, his marginal cooking skills and how he was devastated by his mother's death.