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Who is Dr Martin J Tobin? Pulmonologist confirms fentanyl DID NOT kill George Floyd: ‘Died from lack of oxygen’

Dr Martin J Tobin — a pulmonologist and critical care physician from the Chicago area — explained the cause of George Floyd's death

What really led to George Floyd's death? The question has been hovering over minds ever since the May 25, 2020 tragedy sparked Black Lives Matter movement. In a new development, Dr Martin J Tobin — a pulmonologist and critical care physician from the Chicago area — explained the real cause of death when prosecutors called him to the stand in the Derek Chauvin trial on Thursday, April 8, 2021.

When asked about his medical opinion, Dr Tobin spoke about Floyd's pulseless electrical activity and said, “Mr Floyd died from a low level of oxygen, and this caused damage to his brain that we see, and it also caused a PEA arrhythmia because his heart stopped.” He also added that the low level of oxygen was caused by “shallow breathing” and in a breaking statement went on to confirm that “fentanyl did not kill George Floyd.” Here's a detailed look at who Dr Tobin is and what he really said.

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Who is Dr Martin J Tobin?

An expert in acute respiratory failure, Dr Martin J Tobin went to medical school at University College Dublin, Ireland from 1969 to 1975. He is also a specialist in mechanical ventilation and neuromuscular control of breathing. Dr Tobin completed his medical residency in Dublin, and undertook fellowship training at King’s College Hospital, London, University of Miami, and the University of Pittsburgh.

According to his official bio, he has served as professor of medicine at Hines VA Hospital and Loyola University Medical School in Chicago. Certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine and the American Board of Internal Medicine Subspecialty Pulmonary Disease, he has published several research papers and served as Editor-in-Chief of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

What did Dr Tobin say? 

During the trial, Dr Tobin said the way Floyd was handcuffed and the prone position of Derek Chauvin’s knee on his neck and back contributed to the shallow breathing. Not just that, he also added the force of the officers compounding with the asphalt street prevented him from being able to breathe fully.

“It’s how the handcuffs are being held, how they’re being pushed, where they’re being pushed that totally interfere with central features of how we breathe,” he said. Sketching out more details about Floyd's medical condition, Tobin said Chauvin's knee on the left side of his chest could have limited the amount of air being able to enter the left lung. Describing the scenario, he added it was like “a surgeon had gone in and removed the lung...”

Explaining the shallow breathing

No sooner did he present the explanation during the trial, social media was abuzz with graphical representations of the actual cause of George Floyd's death. “Dr Tobin is a star witness who just described the BRUTAL, VIOLENT death of George Floyd. This exhibit says it all, just like the video,” one tweet read and another said, “Dr Tobin describes drop in levels once Floyd was in prone position. The lungs get smaller and this is what you see here ... the oxygen stores go down my 24% as well.”

One tweet read, “Dr Tobin: A healthy person subjected to what Mr. Floyd was subjected to would have died. Wow.” Another even went on to say, “BREAKING: Dr. Tobin just confirmed that fentanyl had nothing to do with the death of George Floyd. It was Derek Chauvin's KNEE.”

“Pulmonologist Marty Tobin looks at slowed down video of George Floyd under Derek Chauvin’s knee and says directly: One second he is alive and one second he is no longer. ... That’s the moment the life goes out of his body,” a third tweet read. Another commented, “This testimony from Pulmonology expert Dr. Tobin is compelling and keep in mind he has no agenda in this but to explain, in excellent detail, the moments life left George Floyd's body and his fight to breathe.”