George Floyd’s girlfriend recalls the first time they met

By STEVE KARNOWSKI, AMY FORLITI and TAMMY WEBBER Associated Press
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — George Floyd’s girlfriend testified through tears Thursday about how they prayed together the first time they met in 2017 at a Salvation Army shelter where her son’s father was staying and Floyd was a security guard.

Forty-five-year-old Courteney Ross said she was upset because her son’s father was not coming to the lobby to discuss their son’s birthday, when Floyd came over to check on her. She also described how both she and Floyd struggled to overcome opioid addiction.

Ross’ testimony in Derek Chauvin’s murder trial is allowed under a Minnesota legal doctrine that allows prosecutors to call witnesses to testify about crime victims’ lives in a way that portrays them as more than just a statistic.