With world watching Derek Chauvin's trial, focus will be on officer who 'betrayed' his badge

Analysis: the trial over the killing of George Floyd may be a bellwether for racial justice, but the prosecution will focus on one man's actions

For all the many thousands of protests around the world, the global reckoning on racism and policing prompted by the killing of George Floyd last May, prosecutors were clear that their case in the murder trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin would be centered around a period of time lasting less than 10 minutes.

Nine minutes and 29 seconds. The total time that Chauvin held his knee to George Floyd's neck, leaving him pancaked", in the words of prosecutor Jerry Blackwell, between the ground and Chauvin's body, gradually asphyxiating him to death.