Cardiac arrest and drugs, not low oxygen, caused Floyd’s death, defense expert says
MINNEAPOLIS – A pathologist testifying for the defense in the murder trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin told the court Wednesday that George Floyd died of a cardiac arrest combined with drug use, and not low oxygen as several prosecution witnesses have claimed.
Dr. David Fowler also testified that the manner of death was “undetermined” due to a combination of factors, including police restraint and carbon monoxide from a nearby squad car, that could point in multiple directions. The Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled last year that the manner of death was homicide, an act caused by another person.
“Any of the sounds Mr. Floyd is making requires you to take air in … and out …” Fowler said of bystander and police body camera videos showing Floyd pleading to breathe as three officers restrained him.
“You cannot make sound unless you’re … moving air and your mouth is open.”
Fowler testified on the second day of the defense’s case, which is expected to wrap up Thursday. It’s unknown whether Chauvin will testify. Closing arguments are scheduled for next Monday, with court breaking on Friday if no additional witnesses are called.
Fowler, who recently retired after 17 years as the chief medical examiner for the state of Maryland, marked the defense’s move into the cause of death phase of its case. Chauvin’s attorney, Eric Nelson, has argued that Floyd likely died last May 25 of a drug overdose and preexisting issues, including heart disease and arteries that were clogged 75 and 90% in places.
Prosecutors have argued that Chauvin cut off Floyd’s air supply when he knelt on his neck as Floyd lay handcuffed stomach-down in the street with former officer J. Alexander Kueng kneeling on his buttocks and thigh area and former officer Thomas Lane kneeling and holding onto his legs.
Dr. David Fowler “I would fall back to undetermined in this particular case,” the pathologist said on George Floyd’s cause of death.
Chauvin is on trial for second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.
A lack of oxygen would impact the brain first, causing someone to become disoriented and speak incoherently, Fowler said.
“Mr. Floyd goes from making clear statements … and then there’s a period of about forty-five seconds of silence but he’s still moving … and there’s a sudden relaxation” more consistent with cardiac arrest, he testified.
Fowler inadvertently opened the door for a surprising line of impromptu questioning by prosecutor Jerry Blackwell when he testified under cross-examination that Floyd experienced a “sudden cardiac arrest” and that death was not instantaneous. The moment came about after Blackwell asked him twice about his testimony on “sudden death” while being questioned by Nelson. Fowler denied using the phrase, and in doing so, introduced the time gap between cardiac arrest and death.
“Are you suggesting that though Mr. Floyd may have been in cardiac arrest there was a time when he may have been revived because he wasn’t dead yet?” asked Blackwell.
“Immediate medical attention … may well reverse that process, yes,” Fowler answered.
“Do you feel that
Mr. Floyd should have been given immediate emergency attention to try to reverse cardiac arrest?” Blackwell asked.
“As a physician I would agree,” Fowler said.
“Are you critical of the fact that he wasn’t given immediate emergency care when he went into cardiac arrest?” Blackwell asked.
“As a physician I would agree,” Fowler said.
Prosecutors previously told jurors that Chauvin knelt on Floyd and did not relent even though Floyd was breathless and pulseless for nearly five minutes of the approximately 9½-minute restraint.
The Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled Floyd’s cause of death “cardiopulmonary arrest complicating law enforcement subdual, restraint, and neck compression.” It also listed hardening and thickening of the artery walls, heart disease and drug use as “other significant conditions.” Fentanyl and methamphetamine were also found in Floyd’s system.
At the outset of his testimony, Fowler said Floyd had a cardiac arrhythmia due to his heart disease. The doctor listed Floyd’s drug use and paraganglioma, tumors that can secrete adrenaline into the body and raise blood pressure and heart rate, as factors that played a significant role.
“All of those combined to cause Mr. Floyd’s death,” Fowler said.