An independent autopsy concluded that George Floyd died of asphyxia due to neck and back compression by police officers that led to a lack of blood flow to the brain.
The results of the autopsy, commissioned by his family, were released Monday and found that his death was “homicide caused by asphyxia due to neck and back compression that led to a lack of blood flow to the brain,” according to a statement from the family lawyer.
Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, died on May 25 after a white Minneapolis police officer restrained him by pushing his knee on Floyd’s neck until he was unconscious. Floyd can be heard in a viral video pleading that he couldn’t breathe from under the pressure.
Floyd’s family rejected the preliminary assessment of the Hennepin County medical examiner of “no physical findings that support a diagnosis of traumatic asphyxia or strangulation.”
The county’s report also said Floyd’s underlying health conditions included coronary artery disease and hypertensive heart disease. It concluded that the underlying health conditions, combined with officer Derek Chauvin’s restraint and any possible intoxicants in Floyd’s system, likely contributed to his death.
Chauvin, the officer who restrained Floyd, was fired by the department and charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. Three other officers involved with Floyd’s detainment were also fired but have not been charged with any crimes.
Dr. Michael Baden and Dr. Allecia Wilson, who conducted the medical exam at the request of Floyd family attorney Ben Crump, “determined that asphyxiation from sustained pressure was the cause of death.”
Floyd died in police custody last week after Chauvin pinned him down by placing a knee on the back of his neck for nearly nine minutes. Footage of the incident set off a wave of outrage, leading to protests in major cities across the nation, some of which became violent as some protesters rioted, looted stores, destroyed property, burned buildings, and clashed with police.
Floyd’s family said the charges against Chauvin should be upgraded to first-degree murder because they believe there may have been “intent.” On Monday, attorney Ben Crump, his legal team, and Floyd’s family reiterated their call for all the officers who played a role in Floyd’s death to be arrested, and for Chauvin to be charged with first-degree murder.
The independent exam specifically said that “sustained pressure” on the right side of Floyd’s carotid artery “impeded blood flow to the brain” and that “weight on his back impeded his ability to breathe.” The examiners found that “weight on the back, handcuffs, and positioning were contributory factors because they impaired the ability” of Floyd’s diaphragm to function properly, concluding that “from all the evidence” they believe that Floyd died at the scene.
“What we found is consistent with what people saw. There is no other health issue that could cause or contribute to the death.” Baden said. “Police have this false impression that if you can talk, you can breathe. That’s not true.”
This isn’t the first time that Baden has disputed the government’s findings in a high-profile death. The doctor, formerly New York City’s chief medical examiner in the late 1970s who went on to become a celebrity medical examiner and host of Autopsy on HBO, was hired by Jeffrey Epstein’s younger brother, Mark Epstein, to conduct his own investigation of the circumstances of the wealth financier’s death. Baden claimed in October that he did not believe Epstein died by suicide and that the evidence pointed to homicide.
New York City’s chief medical examiner Dr. Barbara Sampson stands by the conclusion that the convicted child sex trafficker and jet-setting financier died of suicide by hanging in his prison cell last August as he awaited trial for new charges of child sex trafficking.
