When Donald Williams saw the police vehicle, he debated continuing on his way. He had sneaked out of his home on May 25 last year for a few minutes’ break from his family — just a quick hop to Cup Foods for an energy drink, something he had done countless times before.
Williams made it to the convenience store door before he stopped in his tracks.
A police vehicle was pulled up to the curb. A black man was lying on his stomach on the ground, his wrists handcuffed behind his back.
Photo: AP
An officer had his left knee on the side of the man’s neck, pinning him to the concrete.
The man struggled to raise his head, his face contorted in pain — he was in obvious distress.
He was George Floyd and his murder would set off a summer of protests and racial reckoning in the US and across the world.
Williams joined two other bystanders at the sidewalk’s edge.
Floyd told the officer kneeling on his neck, Derek Chauvin, that he could not breathe.
Floyd asked for his mother, but Chauvin did not respond.
Williams realized that he had come upon a life-or-death situation.
He identified himself to the officers as a trained fighter with a local mixed martial arts (MMA) academy.
As a professional fighter who had drilled chokeholds for a decade, Williams was a crucial eyewitness for prosecutors at Chauvin’s trial.
He could explain to the jury how Chauvin’s knee created the same pressure on Floyd’s neck as a side choke, which cuts off blood circulation and oxygen to the brain, causing its recipient to lose consciousness.
Williams started wrestling at the age of 12 when he earned a place on the Minneapolis Edison High School team, then continued competing through college.
In 2009, he discovered MMA at Greg Nelson’s Academy in Brooklyn Center. One year from a dental hygienist’s degree, he decided to train full-time under Nelson, who has produced three UFC champions.
As an amateur bantamweight, Williams rattled off six consecutive wins in five months. He was undefeated until he tore a knee ligament in a bout in March 2019.
One year later, Williams found himself on the sidewalk outside Cup Foods.
“I was able to focus and analyze what was happening because of my martial arts training,” Williams said last week. “All these comments [Floyd] made or someone else said, it triggered things in my brain. I knew the reason why things were happening [with Floyd].”
“My head hurts,” Floyd said, according to Williams’ testimony, as Chauvin’s knee remained wedged on his neck.
“My head hurts,” Floyd said again. “I need to get up.”
“That’s a blood choke,” Williams told the officers.
Police trained in these types of chokes at the academy alongside Williams all of the time — maybe one of them would recognize the danger.
Minutes passed as Williams tried to get Chauvin to release his knee.
As Floyd faded in front of his eyes, Williams intensified his pleas.
“Just like in MMA, you can tell when someone is getting tired or getting choked out,” Williams said at the trial.
Williams saw Floyd go lifeless.
As the ambulance drove away, Williams called the police on the police, telling the operator that he had just witnessed a murder.
“I left the house for what I thought would be five minutes, but I was gone for over two hours,” Williams said.
Floyd’s death has taken a mental toll on Williams and his family.
Williams likened the time leading up the trial to preparing for a fight — he wanted to make sure he was fight-ready.
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