George Floyd’s younger brother has broken down in court as he recalled “the leader of our household” who made sure they got to school and made “the best banana mayonnaise sandwiches”.

Father-of-two Philonise Floyd, 39, shed tears as he was shown a picture of his late mother and a young George.

“That’s my oldest brother George. I miss both of them,” he said.

Philonise Floyd took the stand as part of an effort by prosecutors to humanise his brother to the court and make him more than a crime statistic.

George Floyd killing: Watch live coverage of ex-police officer’s murder trial

The state of Minnesota allows “spark of life” testimony such as this during a trial.

Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, is on trial accused of killing George Floyd by putting his knee on the 46-year-old black man’s neck during an arrest last May.

His younger brother described growing up in a poor area of Houston with George and their other siblings.

“He used to make the best banana mayonnaise sandwiches. And he used to make the best syrup sandwiches because George couldn’t cook, he couldn’t boil water,” he said.

Philonise explained how he and his older brother and three other siblings grew up in a housing project for poor
families in Houston, playing Nintendo video games and dreaming of one day being as skilled as their basketball heroes.

They were raised by a mother everyone in the community called Miss Cissy and who George Floyd doted on.

“He would always be up on our mom. He was a big momma’s boy,” he told jurors. “He would lay upon her in the foetal
position like he was still the womb.”

He said that as a child, George used to mark his height on the wall, because he loved sport and wanted to grow taller.

And he said his brother was someone he always went to for advice.

Earlier on Monday, the judge refused a request to immediately isolate the jury, following the killing of black man Daunte Wright by a police officer who stopped him in his car.

The incident triggered unrest in a suburb just outside Minneapolis and Chauvin’s defence lawyer argued that the jurors could be influenced by the prospect of what might happen as a result of their verdict.

But Judge Peter Cahill said he would not isolate the jury until next Monday, when he anticipates closing arguments will begin.

He also denied a defence request to question jurors about what they might have seen about unrest following Sunday’s police shooting of 20-year-old Daunte Wright in Brooklyn Center.

Prosecutor Steve Schleicher also argued against the move saying: “I don’t think that would be an effective remedy.

“World events happen.”

The judge previously told the jury to avoid the news during the hearing.

The trial continues.

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