Prosecution expected to call closing witnesses
MINNEAPOLIS – Jurors were expected to return Monday to hear more medical testimony from another doctor called by the prosecution in the murder trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin.
In court Friday, Dr. Andrew Baker, the chief medical examiner for Hennepin County, emphasized that the topline direct cause of death from his autopsy of George Floyd last May remained unchanged. Baker said it’s still “cardiopulmonary arrest” as a result of Floyd being subdued, restrained and his neck compressed by law enforcement, adding that Floyd’s drug intake or underlying heart issues are “contributing causes.”
“It was my top line then. It would stay my top line now,” Baker said of the law enforcement restraint. “I would still classify it as a homicide today.”
A family-commissioned autopsy found that Floyd’s death was a homicide caused by “asphyxiation from sustained pressure.”
Experts take the stand
Chauvin is charged with seconddegree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.
The prosecution is expected to call its final witnesses this week. Last week, the state called experts and police officials to testify about proper use of force and medical professionals to testify about how Floyd died.
Prosecutors also have asked experts to testify about the role of drugs found in Floyd’s system, trying to head off the defense’s argument that drugs played a key role in his death. The defense has highlighted the effect meth and fentanyl may have on the heart and lungs.
The defense also has argued the crowd of bystanders at the scene distracted and threatened the officers, preventing them from giving care to Floyd and meriting additional force.
The cause of death
During questioning from defense attorney Eric Nelson, Baker said he included heart disease, the history of hypertension and the drugs in Floyd’s system on the death certificate because they played a role in his death.
Baker said he did not find anatomical evidence Floyd died by asphyxia, or low oxygen. But a former Hennepin County medical examiner, who trained Baker and testified before him Friday, told the jury Floyd died from asphyxia due to officers’ restraint.
“This is not a sudden cardiac death,” said Dr. Lindsey Thomas. “This is a death where both heart and lungs stop working. The point is it’s due to law enforcement subdual, restraint and compression.”