Seth Zachary Bravinder, a Hennepin County paramedic, is on the witness stand after a morning break. 

Bravinder was on duty last May 25 and was dispatched to the scene of George Floyd's arrest.

Prosecutors explained George Floyd's struggle with drugs as well as possible, with an eye toward Derek Chauvin's defense that'll surely put blame on the victim, legal analysts said. 

Floyd's girlfriend Courteney Ross spared no details explaining their shared issues with opioids and even past overdose episodes.

As uncomfortable as that might have sounded to Floyd's survivors, airing his drug struggles was a necessary legal maneuver by prosecutors, according to former federal prosecutor Joyce Vance.

"We know intellectually there's not a death penalty in America for passing a counterfeit $20 bill or for being a drug addict. But that's really the strategy that the defense has in mind here, is to plant in the jury's mind the notion that (Floyd) in some ways deserved what happened here," Vance told MSNBC following Ross' testimony.

"And so here they're able to talk about Floyd's drug addiction in a very human way but also ... they're educating the jury about the fact even if the drugs in George Floyd's system contributed in some way to his death that importantly he was brought back in earlier overdose situations with medical treatment which wasn't provided here." 

Former U.S. Attorney Harry Litman said Chauvin's defense lawyer Eric Nelson could have made more from Ross' testimony with fewer questions.

"A cross should be very focused and make two or three points and out," Litman said. "And instead Mr. Nelson seems to be sort of meandering, repeating the direct, not highlighting what he wants to say, asking a lot of open questions. His goal should be make two or three points and sit down." 

But NBC News legal analyst Danny Cevallos said prosecutors should have brought out more "bad stories" of Floyd's drug problems, to get ahead of the defense.

"I think the AG should have brought out a lot more of the drug use. It kind of looks like they were hiding it," Cevallos said. "Anyone with opiate addiction has a lot of bad stories."

Derek Chauvin’s defense attorney asked George Floyd’s girlfriend a series of questions about who provided Floyd with drugs during questions about his opioid addiction.

Attorney Eric Nelson asked Courteney Ross Thursday morning several questions about Maurice Hall providing Floyd with drugs. Hall was a friend of Floyd’s who was with him on the day that he died. Hall was in the passenger seat of the car when police approached Floyd.

Ross said, "she didn't like Maurice very much."

She said she did not see Floyd purchase drugs from Hall "with my own eyes" but speculated that he did.

A cashier at Cup Foods testified Wednesday that Hall had tried to use a fake $20 at the store earlier in the day on May 25, 2020, the day when Floyd died.

Hall has filed notice that he plans to invoke his 5th Amendment right not to testify in the case.

Prosecutor Matthew Frank asked George Floyd's girlfriend, Courteney Ross, many questions about their shared opioid addiction that she said they struggled with throughout their three-year relationship.

By calling Ross to the witness stand, prosecutors are attempting to not only humanize Floyd but also establish he had a high tolerance for fentanyl. An autopsy determined that Floyd was intoxicated with fentanyl and had recently used methamphetamines.

The defense has claimed that Floyd died from a drug overdose, underlying health conditions and the adrenaline flowing through his body — not from being pinned under Derek Chauvin's knee for 9 minutes, 29 seconds as the prosecution said Monday.

Prosecutors didn't hesitate showcasing George Floyd's opioid addiction, a drug struggle that's sure to be central to Derek Chauvin's defense, legal analysts said.

Floyd's girlfriend Courteney Ross, under the friendly questioning of Assistant Attorney General Matthew Frank, explained how they both had issues with opioids.

Ross admitted on the witness stand that she went to great lengths to secure various opioids for herself and Floyd. 

Minnesota prosecutors have no choice but to show these cards early, "to take the sting out of it before the defense talks about it," said Mary Moriarty, former chief Hennepin County public defender. 

An autopsy on Floyd showed evidence of fentanyl and methamphetamine use and Chauvin's defense wants to show that factors, other than the officer's knee, could have caused the man's death.

"It's better for the prosecution to detonate their own bombs and not let the defense detonate them," NBC legal analyst Danny Cevallos said. 

George Floyd's girlfriend, Courteney Ross, 45, recounted how they both struggled with opioid addiction.

She said they both struggled with their addiction to painkillers throughout their three-year relationship.

"Floyd and I both suffered with an opioid addiction," she told prosecutor Matthew Frank. "Both Floyd and I, our story, it's a classic story of how many people get addicted to opioids."

She said they both suffered from chronic pain. 

"Mine was in my neck and his was in his back," she said. "We both had prescriptions. But after prescriptions that were filled, we got addicted and tried really hard to break that addiction many times."

They attempted to work through it together, she said.

Asked by Frank how long they struggled with addiction, Ross said: "Addiction, in my opinion, is a lifelong struggle. So it's something that we dealt with every day. It's not something that just kind of comes and goes. It's something I'll deal with forever." 

She said Floyd would take OxyContin and Oxycodone. They would purchase the opioids on the black market. 

She said there were times they would use opioids together.

George Floyd’s girlfriend testified Thursday that he seemed like a “shell of himself” and “broken” following the death of his mother in 2018.

Courteney Ross, 45, said Thursday morning in court that Floyd changed after the death of his mother in May 2018.

“He seemed kind of like a shell of himself,” Ross said. “Like he was broken.”

Ross, who described Floyd as a "mama's boy," added that she could tell he was “devastated” by the loss of his mother.

“He seemed so sad. He didn't have the same kind of bounce that he had,” she said.

“He loved his mom so much,” she said through tears.

George Floyd's girlfriend broke down in tears on the witness stand, recounting how they met and how she always called him "Floyd," rather than by his first name.

Waitress Courteney Ross, 45, told jurors it's "one of my favorite stories to tell," explaining how they met in August 2017 at a Salvation Army shelter where he worked as a security guard.

The father of Ross' son was staying at that shelter and wasn't coming down to see the witness, upsetting her as Floyd offered comfort.

"He said, 'Can I pray with you?'" said Ross, as she choked back tears. "I was tired. We'd been through so much, my sons and I. This kind person, just to come up to me [and say], 'Can I pray with you,' I'm alone in this lobby, It was so sweet. At the time, I had had lost a lot of faith in God."

Earlier in her testimony, Ross said she always called her boyfriend, "Floyd," much like his old Houston friends who also knew him as "Floyd" or "Big Floyd."