A former Minneapolis police officer charged in George Floyd's killing says he was relying on his fellow officers to care for Floyd’s medical needs while he controlled onlookers during his arrest.

Tou Thao is one of three former officers charged in federal court with violating Floyd’s constitutional rights when Officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck for 9 and a half minutes.

He took the stand Tuesday, saying he was positioned on the roadway to serve as “a human traffic cone” to keep traffic away from the other officers.

Thao said he heard onlookers becoming more anxious about Floyd’s conditions and calling on officers to check his pulse, but he maintained his role was crowd control.

The former officer added that he did not notice signs of distress from his vantage point.

The prosecution rested its case Monday after calling to the stand doctors, police officers and bystanders.

Chauvin has already been convicted on state charges and pleaded guilty in federal court.