GEORGE Floyd died from “asphyxia due to neck and back compression that led to a lack of blood flow to the brain,” according to findings from an independent autopsy.
Floyd’s family announced the findings on Monday, a week after the 46-year-old black man died in police custody, and called for former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin to be charged with first-degree murder.
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The independent autopsy, conducted by Michael Baden and Allecia Wilson, determined Floyd’s death to be “homicide.”
“Sustained pressure on the right side of Mr Floyd’s carotid artery impeded blood flow to the brain, and weight on his back impeded his ability to breathe,” a statement from the family’s attorney read.
“The independent examiners found that weight on the back, handcuffs, and positioning were contributory factors because they impaired the ability of Mr Floyd’s diaphragm to function.”
“From all the evidence, the doctors said it now appears Mr Floyd died at the scene,” the statement read, contradicting authorities, who have said Floyd died at the Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis.
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Baden said what he and Wilson found “is consistent with what people saw. There is no other health issue that could cause or contribute to his death.”
He added: “Police have this false impression that if you can talk, you can breathe. That’s not true.”
At a press conference on Monday, Baden said Floyd had no underlying health problems that contributed to his death.
“He couldn’t breathe and that is homicidal,” he said, adding Floyd’s face was rubbed severely against the ground.
“He was in good health,” Baden said. “The cause of death is asphyxia compression of the neck and back.”
Baden said he “wished” his arteries were as good as Floyd’s, and said that “what those officers did that we see on this video is that cause of his death — not some underlying, unknown health condition.”
The family attorney said: “What you see on the video is exactly what happened. Those police officers were the proximate cause of George Floyd’s death.”
Preliminary findings from an official autopsy conducted last week said the combined effects of being restrained, potential intoxicants in Floyd’s body, and his underlying health issues, including heart disease, likely contributed to his death.
No other details were released at the time about intoxicants, and results for that could take weeks.
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Floyd was arrested on May 25 after a deli owner claimed the 46-year-old tried using a fake $20 bill to buy cigarettes.
The caller told police in the 911 call the man trying to use counterfeit money was “awfully drunk and he’s not in control of himself.”
Floyd was arrested by four officers, who of whom was caught on video holding his knee on the back of Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes.
Floyd repeatedly told the officers he couldn’t breathe before he died.
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The criminal complaint said the autopsy “revealed no physical findings that support a diagnosis of traumatic asphyxia or strangulation.”
An attorney for Floyd’s family said last week he was commissioning the family’s own autopsy— as they, like families of other black men killed by police, wanted an independent look that didn’t have local authorities’ analysis on it.
Baden is the former chief medical examiner of New York City, who was hired to conduct an autopsy of Eric Garner, a black man who died in 2014 after New York police placed him in a chokehold and he pleaded that he could not breathe.
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Chauvin on Friday was charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in Floyd’s death.
In the weeks since Floyd’s death, tens of thousands of people in at least 140 cities in the US and in countries across the globe have been protesting police brutality and racism.
More than 4,100 people have been arrested in recent days in connection with violent protests and demonstrations, which Floyd’s brother, Terrence, told people on Monday to stop doing, as Floyd “would not want y’all to be doing this.”