We have all heard the media’s preferred narrative that George Floyd was an innocent man killed by the crushing boot of a racist white cop. But there’s ample information out there showing a much more complicated story.
Don’t mention any of that in front of Floyd family attorney Benjamin Crump, who said on Monday that any discussion of such information, or any suggestion that Floyd died from anything other than racism, is merely an attempt to “assassinate his character.”
“The fact that they found trace amount of drugs in his system is just a distraction,” Crump said on NBC’s Today.
Except that’s not true. The fact that Floyd had methamphetamine and fentanyl in his system when he died is literally at the heart of what happened. Floyd was not a well man, and if those drugs made his condition worse or contributed to his death, it’s obviously relevant.
The medical examiner’s report on Floyd indicated that he had a history of illnesses, particularly as it related to his cardiovascular system. He had hypertension and a swollen heart. The medical examiner described Floyd’s heart disease as “severe.”
The conclusion of the examiner’s report is that Floyd died of a heart attack. The methamphetamine and fentanyl in his system is crucial in understanding this. It doesn’t mean that Floyd was a drug abuser who doesn’t deserve our sympathy. It means he was ingesting things that were exacerbating his already-severe heart complications.
The two drugs Floyd had taken have opposite effects on the body. Amphetamines are a stimulant, known to increase blood pressure and cause aggressive behavior. Fentanyl, in contrast, works more like a sedative. Is there any question that consuming opioids and stimulants simultaneously, both jump-starting and sedating his body at the same time, would have compounded Floyd’s heart condition, especially if he faced a stressful confrontation with police?
Nobody cares if Floyd was a drug user. Substance abuse doesn’t mean he deserved to die.
But another man’s life is on the line, too. Former Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin is standing trial with two separate counts for the murder of Floyd. A point that Chauvin’s defense attorney made Monday is that the drugs in Floyd’s system “compromised an already compromised heart.”
Floyd’s character isn’t the issue. His heart is.
