The murder trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin will resume today, with proceedings expected to end a bit earlier than usual. Hennepin County District Judge Peter Cahill has said he expects to adjourn no later than 12:30 p.m. local time.

The fourth day of testimony yesterday was highlighted by accounts from Chauvin’s former supervisor, two paramedics, and George Floyd’s girlfriend.

Courteney Ross, 45, testified through tears at the Hennepin County Courthouse in Minneapolis where Chauvin is standing trial. She recalled how she and Floyd met in 2017 at a Salvation Army shelter where he worked as a security guard. She said they grew addicted to opioids after initially being prescribed them for pain.

“Both Floyd and I, our story, it’s a classic story of how many people get addicted to opioids. We both suffered from chronic pain. Mine was in my neck and his was in his back,” Ross told the court. “We both had prescriptions. But after prescriptions that were filled, and we got addicted and tried really hard to break that addiction many times.”

Floyd died after Chauvin appeared on video pressing his knee to the man’s neck on May 25 last year. Prosecutors say Chauvin knelt on Floyd’s neck for 9 minutes, 29 seconds, as he pleaded that he couldn’t breathe.

Prosecutors contend that Floyd’s death was caused by Chauvin’s knee. The defense has argued that Chauvin did what he was trained to do and that Floyd’s death was caused instead by Floyd’s illegal drug use, underlying health conditions, and the adrenaline flowing through his body. An autopsy found fentanyl and methamphetamine in his system.

Ross, who was a prosecution witness, testified that she and Floyd used drugs on and off throughout their three-year relationship. She said they also took the prescriptions of others, as well as illegal drugs.

Yesterday afternoon, the state called Sgt. David Pleoger, Chauvin’s former supervisor, to the stand. Pleoger, who recently retired from the Minneapolis Police Department, testified that Chauvin did not immediately tell him that he placed his knee on Floyd’s neck. He added that when Chauvin made that disclosure later that night, he did not say for how long.

Minneapolis EMS worker Seth Bravinder also testified that he and his partner were in the downtown section of the city on May 25, 2020, when they received an initial call, which was a “Code 2,” meaning routine driving with no lights or sirens, for a “mouth injury with police on scene.” It was upgraded shortly thereafter to a “Code 3,” which required emergency lights and sirens.