Witness Shawanda Hill Testimony During Derek Chauvin Trial Transcript: Was In George Floyd's Car

Eric Nelson: (00:00) Good morning, Ms. Hill. Shawanda Hill: (00:01) Hi. Eric Nelson: (00:02) Thank you for being here with us today. I just have a few questions about May 25th of 2020. Do you recall that date? Shawanda Hill: (00:10) Yes. Eric Nelson: (00:11) On that date, were you at the Cup Foods located in Minneapolis? Shawanda Hill: (00:17) Yes, yes. Eric Nelson: (00:17) Did you run into anybody that you knew while you were there? Shawanda Hill: (00:20) Yes. George Floyd. Eric Nelson: (00:21) And while you were at the Cup Foods or in the Cup Foods, did you have an opportunity to observe Mr. Floyd's behavior, demeanor, things of that nature? Shawanda Hill: (00:31) Yes. Eric Nelson: (00:32) How would you describe Mr. Floyd's behavior while inside of the Cup Foods. Shawanda Hill: (00:38) Happy, normal, talking, alert. Eric Nelson: (00:44) Did he offer to give you a ride? Shawanda Hill: (00:48) Yes. Eric Nelson: (00:49) A ride to wherever it was you were going? Shawanda Hill: (00:50) My house. Eric Nelson: (00:52) Okay. And so did you go to his car with him? Shawanda Hill: (00:55) Yes. Eric Nelson: (00:56) Once you got into the car, did you observe any changes to his demeanor? Shawanda Hill: (01:02) When we were in the car for the first like eight minutes, we were talking and hugging, you know what I'm saying? Talking about what we were about to do. And then I got a phone call. And so, I was on the phone for the rest of the time until the little boys came to the car, and he fell asleep at that time. Eric Nelson: (01:22) So at some point during the course of the time that you were in the car with Mr. Floyd, Mr. Floyd suddenly fell asleep, right? Shawanda Hill: (01:30) Yes. Eric Nelson: (01:31) And the phone call you received, was that from your daughter? Shawanda Hill: (01:34) Yes. Eric Nelson: (01:35) And so you were talking with your daughter during that time. Shawanda Hill: (01:37) Yes. Eric Nelson: (01:39) And you described... Would you agree that at some point, you said some little boys. Are those employees at the store? Shawanda Hill: (01:48) Yes. Mm-hmm (affirmative). Sorry, yes. Eric Nelson: (01:49) That's okay. Store employees came and approached the car, correct? Shawanda Hill: (01:54) Yes. Eric Nelson: (01:55) And at that point, Mr. Floyd suddenly fell asleep? Shawanda Hill: (01:58) He was already asleep. Eric Nelson: (01:59) He was already sleeping? Shawanda Hill: (02:00) Yes, when they came to the car. And when they came there, I tried to wake him up, they tried to wake him and I tried to wake him up over and over. And his friend tried to wake him up. And he woke up. Then he'll say something, he made a little gesture, and nodded back off. He did that a couple of times. Eric Nelson: (02:21) Was that kind of a sudden change from how you observed him in the store to the car? Shawanda Hill: (02:25) Yes, but he already told me in the store, he was tired because he had been working- Matthew Frank: (02:29) Objection, there's an objection. Speaker 4: (02:38) Hold on. Objection, [inaudible 00:02:39]? Matthew Frank: (02:38) Leading, the answer is stricken. Speaker 4: (02:41) Overruled. Eric Nelson: (02:42) And so at some point, did the store clerks leave the side of the car? Shawanda Hill: (02:47) Yes. I told them that I would wake him up and send him in there because I didn't have the money on me. I used my money, so. Eric Nelson: (02:53) Okay. And did you continue to try to rouse Mr. Floyd? Shawanda Hill: (02:57) Yes. Speaker 4: (02:58) Wait till he finishes the question so that we don't overlap. Okay? Because the court reporter is taking everything down, and it's really hard if you overlap. Shawanda Hill: (03:05) Oh, okay. Speaker 4: (03:06) Okay? Thanks. Eric Nelson: (03:07) Thank you. So did you continue to try to awaken Mr. Floyd? Shawanda Hill: (03:11) Yes. I tried a couple of times, but then, I just let it go for a minute because I was back on the phone and... You want to hear the rest? Eric Nelson: (03:22) And did the store clerks come back to the car a second time? Shawanda Hill: (03:25) No. Eric Nelson: (03:25) Okay. And at some point, the police officers approached the car? Shawanda Hill: (03:32) Yes. Eric Nelson: (03:33) And Mr. Floyd was aroused by the police? Shawanda Hill: (03:37) Yes. Eric Nelson: (03:38) I have no further questions, your honor. Speaker 4: (03:39) Mr. Frank. Matthew Frank: (03:57) Good morning, Ms. Hill. I just have a couple of follow-up questions for you. Okay? Shawanda Hill: (04:01) Yes. Matthew Frank: (04:02) So during the period that you were with Mr. Floyd in the store, you said he was alert. Shawanda Hill: (04:10) Yes. Matthew Frank: (04:10) Friendly? Shawanda Hill: (04:10) Yes. Matthew Frank: (04:13) Talkative? Shawanda Hill: (04:14) Talking, yes. All of that, hugging. Matthew Frank: (04:20) And when you went out to the store, he walked by himself out to the store. Shawanda Hill: (04:25) Yes. Matthew Frank: (04:25) In fact, did a little dance as he went out to the car? Shawanda Hill: (04:27) Yes. Matthew Frank: (04:30) We just have to make sure that you wait til the question's done, so we were talking over each other. Okay? I know it's a hard habit to break, but we just have to be careful with that. Okay? And when you got back to the car, at some point he nodded off. Shawanda Hill: (04:49) Yes. Matthew Frank: (04:50) But you were able to wake him, correct? Shawanda Hill: (04:53) Yes. Matthew Frank: (04:54) And talk to him. Shawanda Hill: (04:57) Yes. But he wasn't that coherent at times. Matthew Frank: (05:03) He was just awakening. Shawanda Hill: (05:04) Yes. Matthew Frank: (05:05) And nodded off again? Shawanda Hill: (05:09) Yes. Matthew Frank: (05:09) And at some point the police officers walked up, correct? Is that yes? Shawanda Hill: (05:11) Yes. Matthew Frank: (05:14) And, and then he... Well, you woke him up when the police officers walked up, correct? Shawanda Hill: (05:21) Yes. Matthew Frank: (05:23) And so then he was awake. Shawanda Hill: (05:27) Yes. You just want me to say yes or no? Explain what you want me to do. Matthew Frank: (05:30) Well, explain. Shawanda Hill: (05:32) You want me to explain. Okay, thank you. So when I tried to wake him up, he woke up the second time. I said, "Floyd, the police is here. It's about the $20 bill. Wasn't real." I kept saying, "Baby, get up. The police was out." So he looked and we looked to the right and he had the police, he tapped on the window with a flashlight. And I'm like "Floyd." And so he turned back around again, he's like, "What, what?" And I was like, "Baby, that's the police. Open the door, roll down the window, whatever he told you to do." Shawanda Hill: (06:02) So he looked back and he when he seen the man, the man had the gun at the window when we looked back to him. So he instantly grabbed the wheel and he was like, "Please, please don't kill me. Please, please don't shoot me. Don't shoot me. What did I do to? Just tell me what I did. Please don't kill me. Please don't shoot me. And I'm like, "Floyd, baby, it's not..." Shawanda Hill: (06:22) You said explain, so I'm explain what state he was in, sir. Matthew Frank: (06:25) I did. And I have to ask some questions. I'm sorry to cut you off. I really am. Shawanda Hill: (06:32) That's all right. Matthew Frank: (06:33) But I want to go back and just cover one thing quick, because you... Where were you sitting in the vehicle? Shawanda Hill: (06:38) In the back right, passenger seat. Matthew Frank: (06:40) Okay. And so when officers came- Shawanda Hill: (06:42) The back passenger seat. Matthew Frank: (06:44) Were there two officers that came to the vehicle? Shawanda Hill: (06:46) Yes. Matthew Frank: (06:46) So one came to the passenger side and one to the driver's side? Shawanda Hill: (06:49) Yes. Matthew Frank: (06:50) So initially you saw one officer to your right on the passenger side, correct? Shawanda Hill: (06:55) No, I seen, I was up in... I'm trying to wake him up. So I'm in the middle at the time when the police were there. That's how I was able to see him too. Just, we both looked at the same time. Matthew Frank: (07:07) And when he was, during this time period, with coming out from Cup Foods and being in the vehicle, did he complain of shortness of breath at all? Shawanda Hill: (07:23) No. Matthew Frank: (07:23) Did he complain of chest pains at all? Shawanda Hill: (07:25) No. Matthew Frank: (07:26) And other than being sleepy or nodding off a little bit, did he seem abnormal to you in any way? Shawanda Hill: (07:33) No, not at all. Matthew Frank: (07:35) And did he seem startled when the officer pulled a gun on him? Shawanda Hill: (07:41) Very. Matthew Frank: (07:43) I have nothing further. Speaker 4: (07:50) [inaudible 00:07:50]. Eric Nelson: (07:58) Thank you. So while you were in the car, or prior to getting in the car, Mr. Floyd appeared to you to be normal, correct? Shawanda Hill: (08:06) Yes. Eric Nelson: (08:07) When he got in the car, he fell asleep, correct? Shawanda Hill: (08:09) We talked for a while, then he fell asleep. Eric Nelson: (08:12) And then ultimately you had to make several efforts to try to wake him up. Shawanda Hill: (08:17) Yes. Eric Nelson: (08:18) I have nothing further. Speaker 4: (08:20) Thank you, Ms. Hill. We appreciate you coming in. You are excused. Shawanda Hill: (08:24) Thank you. Diane Macedo: (08:29) So again, that's Shawanda Hill. She was the woman in the car with George Floyd on May 25th. We saw her on some of the police body cam footage. She testified that while in Cup Foods that George Floyd was happy, he was normal, he was talking and he was alert. But she says once he got back in the car, that Floyd was sleepy. She says that for eight minutes they were talking and everything was fine. And then she received a phone call. She got on the phone. And the next thing that she noticed, by the time the police came to the car, she said that he had fallen asleep. She also said that when the Cup Foods employees came out to the car... Let's listen to what the defense is saying here. Diane Macedo: (09:11) It sounds like they're calling their next witness. But Hill says that ultimately that Floyd fell asleep several times in the car, that they tried to rouse him several times and that he would kind of gesture and then nod off, but ultimately he was awake and alert once officers approached the car, and one officer pulled a gun on George Floyd there. Diane Macedo: (09:33) That's again, Shawanda Hill's testimony, the woman who was in the car with George Floyd on May 25th.