Special Prosecutor Jerry Blackwell on Monday argued that there was "no cause" for the use of lethal cause against George Floyd at the start of Derek Chauvin's trial in Minneapolis.

Blackwell asserted that, "the evidence is going to show you that there was no cause in the first place to use lethal force against a man who was defenceless, who was handcuffed, who was not resisting." He also commented that the police force of Minneapolis are "not allowed, to use any more force than is necessary to bring a person under their control."

The prosecutor explained how the court would experience Floyd's last moments alive, "you will hear his final words when he says 'I can't breathe.' Before that time, you will hear his voice get heavier, you will hear his words further apart, you will see that his respiration gets shallower and shallower and finally stops when he speaks his last words, 'I can't breathe.'"

The trial is expected to last two to four weeks. A jury selection took more than two weeks, having started on March 8. Jurors are to remain anonymous.

Derek Chauvin has been charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter and third-degree murder after being filmed kneeling on Floyd's neck for nearly nine minutes, leading to his death.