Coroner confirms homicide after independent autopsy says George Floyd died of asphyxia 'on the scene'
An official post-mortem examination declared the death of George Floyd as a homicide on Monday, June 1. Floyd died after a now ex Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on his neck for a sickening eight minutes while restraining him. Floyd repeatedly told the officer that he was unable to breathe but the officer did not budge, in a viral video that has sparked nationwide outrage.
According to experts hired by Floyd's family and the Hennepin County Medical Examiner, both ruled his death as a homicide. The Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office had carried out the initial autopsy and had reportedly recorded evidence of heart disease and recent drug use, BBC reports.
They said that he had suffered a cardiac arrest "while being restrained by a law enforcement officer". This report was released after the private medical examiners hired by the Floyd family said that Floyd's death had been due to asphyxia (lack of oxygen) due to compression on his neck and also on his back. They had found the death to be a homicide. A former NYC Medical examiner, Dr Michael Baden, shared at a news conference, "The cause of death, in my opinion, is asphyxia, due to compression to the neck - which can interfere with oxygen going to the brain - and compression to the back, which interferes with breathing."
According to a lawyer for the Floyd family, Benjamin Crump, "Beyond doubt, he would be alive today if not for the pressure applied to his neck by officer Derek Chauvin and the strain on his body by two other officers. The ambulance was his hearse."
On Friday, May 29, the Hennepin County Medical Examiner had reportedly announced that it had made "no physical findings that support a diagnosis of traumatic asphyxia or strangulation.” They seemed to suggest that Floyd had some underlying health conditions that had contributed to his death. The autopsy did note that Chauvin kept his knee on Floyd's neck for eight minutes and 46 seconds, and nearly three minutes after Floyd became unresponsive. The medical report was heavily contested.
A press release from the Hennepin County Medical Examiner had also said that Floyd had "recent methamphetamine use and fentanyl intoxication", Daily Mail reveals. The reports did not specify how much of the drugs were in his system or how they contributed to his death. An attorney for the Floyd family, Antonio Romanucci spoke to CNN and said, "Whether or not he was intoxicated or had medications in his system is irrelevant to the cause of death, which is homicide, which is death by the hand of another."
"The end result, which is George Floyd's death, would not be any different." According to Crump, the 46-year-old man had essentially been "dead on the scene". Floyd's death has sparked nationwide outrage and protests against police brutality and the disregard for African American lives.
We had previously reported that POTUS Trump had allegedly ordered governors to "dominate" George Floyd protesters, according to a newly leaked audio. Trump was heard talking to governors and telling them that they needed to step up law enforcement measures in response to protesters so that "you'll never see this stuff again". The "unhinged" audio call was obtained by CBS News.