Independent autopsy concludes George Floyd asphyxiated because of pressure on his neck and back

Last week we learned that the autopsy carried out by the Hennepin County Medical Examiner had concluded that there was no evidence George Floyd had asphyxiated as a result of police officers leaning on his back and neck. As Allahpundit mentioned, that wasn’t expected to be the last word because Dr. Michael Baden had already agreed to perform an independent medical examination on behalf of Floyd’s family. Today the results of that autopsy were revealed. According to Dr. Baden, Floyd was asphyxiated by police:

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“Not only was the knee on George’s neck a cause of his death, but so was the weight of the other two police officers on his back, who not only prevented blood flow into his brain but also air flow into his lungs,” said Antonio Romanucci, a lawyer for the family.

The new autopsy also contradicted the claim that Floyd had underlying conditions that contributed to his death.

Prosecutors intimated in the criminal complaint that other factors were involved in Mr. Floyd’s death, including coronary artery disease and hypertensive heart disease. “The combined effects of Mr. Floyd being restrained by the police, his underlying health conditions and any potential intoxicants in his system likely contributed to his death,” the criminal complaint said.

But Dr. Baden said: “The autopsy shows that Mr. Floyd had no underlying medical problem that caused or contributed to his death. This is confirmed by information provided to Dr. Wilson and myself by the family.”

One of the things being stressed by the family’s attorney Benjamin Crump is that Floyd was already dead by the time the ambulance arrived.

“The medics, based on the EMT report that we have in our possession, performed pulse checks several times finding none and delivered one shock by their monitor, but George’s condition did not change,” he said. “They delivered him to the hospital, continued ventilation, but that last report was the patient was still pulseless.”

Crump’s co-counsel argued that because Floyd died at the scene from the pressure on his neck and back, the other officers at the scene are also directly responsible for his death.

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So far, former officer Derek Chauvin has been charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. Three other officers have been fired but have not been charged, though the County Attorney has said he expects they will be.

The full press conference about the results is available below. It’s about 45 minutes long. I have it cued up to the statement from Dr. Baden. It really sounds as if Baden is saying the evidence that Floyd’s death was via asphyxiation can’t be seen in the autopsy so much as in the video of his death. He says evidence of the compression of Floyd’s neck and back can’t be seen because the pressure has since been released but he walks through what he sees in the video to make the case that Floyd suffocated because of the pressure on his neck and back.

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Jazz Shaw 7:20 PM | March 18, 2024
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