George Floyd's family hires own pathologist after autopsy says 'heart disease, intoxicants' caused death
George Floyd's family has reportedly hired their own pathologist to conduct a separate autopsy after the official autopsy claimed that the 46-year-old did not die of strangulation or asphyxiation. The county autopsy's preliminary results have concluded that Floyd died from a combination of heart disease and "potential intoxicants in his system" that were exacerbated by the restraint placed on him by police officers, reports state.
The four Minneapolis police officers involved in Floyd's brutal death were fired on May 26 after a video of the incident went viral on social media. The footage showed Floyd pleading with officers as one of them, Derek Chauvin, knelt on his neck as the 46-year-old told them to let him stand because he could not breathe. The clip showed Floyd pleading with the officer to allow him to breathe and a few minutes later he became unconscious.
Shortly after the autopsy results' release, the 46-year-old's family on Friday, May 29, announced that they have hired renowned forensic pathologist Dr Michael Baden to conduct a second, independent autopsy. The family has claimed that Floyd's underlying health conditions cited in the official autopsy report are "an illusion," the Daily Mail reported.
The family attorney, Ben Crump, released a statement on May 29, saying: "The family does not trust anything coming from the Minneapolis Police Department. How can they? We already saw the truth."
Reports state that the renowned pathologist — who was also hired by Jeffrey Epstein's brother — is set to travel to Minneapolis on Saturday, May 30. Baden, while talking to Fox News, said that he will disclose and discuss his findings in the first week of June.
The official autopsy results were revealed shortly after Chauvin, 44, was charged with murder on May 29. According to the criminal complaint filed against Chauvin, preliminary findings from an autopsy conducted by the Hennepin County Medical Examiner saw "no physical findings that support a diagnosis of traumatic asphyxiation or strangulation." The complaint from the Hennepin County Attorney stated: "Mr Floyd had underlying health conditions including coronary artery disease and hypertensive heart disease. The combined effects of Mr Floyd being restrained by police, his underlying health conditions, and any potential intoxicants in his system likely contributed to his death."
Floyd family's attorneys, Ben Crump and S Lee Merritt, in a press conference had said that the family was not happy with the findings.
"'We're going to take custody back of George Floyd's body, and we're bringing in Dr Michael Baden to perform an independent autopsy because we saw in the Eric Garner case and so many other cases where they have these people who work with the city come up with things that are such an illusion," Crump said. "They're going to have their own autopsy. We're not going to rely on this DA or this city to tell us the truth. We already saw the truth."
"He had asthma, he had a heart condition — all these things that are irrelevant when they were living, breathing, walking, talking, just fine until the police accosted them," Crump added. He also called for a more serious charge to be brought against Chauvin and three other officers involved in the incident.
Chauvin's arrest came on the fourth day of widespread protests and unrest in the region as more demonstrations broke out nationwide. Protests were also seen in Washington DC, resulting in the White House to take measures to lockdown.