Medical examiner: Floyd’s heart stopped while restrained
A medical examiner on Monday classified George Floyd’s death as a homicide, saying his heart stopped as police restrained him and suppressed his neck, in a widely seen video that has sparked protests across the nation.
“Decedent expe- rienced a cardiopulmonary arrest while being restrained by law enforcement officer(s),” the report read. Under “other signif- icant conditions” it said Floyd suffered from heart disease and hypertension, and listed fentanyl intoxication and recent meth- amphetamine use.
Derek Chauvin has been charged with third-degree murder in Floyd’s death, and three other officers were fired.
An autopsy commissioned for Floyd’s family found that he died of asphyxiation due to neck and back compression, the family’s attorneys said Monday.
The autopsy by a doctor who also examined Eric Garner’s body found the compression cut off blood to Floyd’s brain, and that the pressure of other offi- cers’ knees on his back made it impossible for him to breathe, attorney Ben Crump said. He called for the third-degree murder charge against Chauvin to be upgraded to first-degree murder and for the three other officers to be charged.
The family’s autopsy differs from the official autopsy as described in a criminal complaint against the officer. That autopsy included the effects of being restrained, along with underlying health issues and potential intoxicants in Floyd’s system, but also said it found nothing “to support a diagnosis of traumatic asphyxia or strangulation.” The family’s autopsy found no evidence of heart disease and concluded he had been healthy.
The official autopsy last week provided no details about intoxicants.