Floyd died from low oxygen levels, doctor tells murder trial

GEORGE FLOYD died from a “low level of oxygen” caused by Derek Chauvin pinning him to the ground with his hands handcuffed behind him, a leading pulmonologist told the former officer’s murder trial.

Dr Martin Tobin, a world-renowned lung and critical care specialist, told the court that a healthy person would have died from “what Mr Floyd was subjected to”, rejecting the defence’s claim that drugs and heart problems led to his death at the age of 46.

In detailed testimony, Dr Tobin walked the jury through a series of graphics illustrating how Mr Floyd’s breathing was affected by Mr Chauvin and two other officers holding him down for more than nine minutes. He invited the jurors to “examine your own necks” to better understand the effect of a knee on a person’s neck. Most did so, taking copious notes.

He explained that Mr Floyd’s breathing was too shallow to take in enough oxygen, which damaged his brain and caused an abnormal heart rhythm that made his heart stop. “Mr Floyd died from a low level of oxygen,” he said.

Dr Tobin, a professor at Chicago’s Loyola University, said he was able to pinpoint the moment when Mr Floyd “reached the point where there was not one ounce of oxygen left in the body”.

It was the first direct testimony in the trial to explicitly say Mr Floyd died from Mr Chauvin’s pressure on him. It made him a star witness for the prosecution, which says Mr Chauvin killed Mr Floyd by cutting off his oxygen supply.

Mr Chauvin, 45, is on trial charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter and third-degree murder.

The defence has argued that Mr Chauvin was doing “exactly what he had been trained to do over his 19-year career” when Mr Floyd was arrested for allegedly using a counterfeit $20 bill in a Minneapolis shop last May.

The testimony by Dr Tobin undermined the defence’s claim that fentanyl found in Mr Floyd’s system combined with existing heart disease led to his death. He declared any fentanyl in Mr Floyd’s system was “not having an effect” on his breathing.

The trial at Hennepin County District Court, Minneapolis, continues.