The family of George Floyd, the 46-year-old Minneapolis man who died after he was arrested by police, reportedly plans to hire high-profile medical examiner Dr. Michael Baden, the former New York City medical examiner who performed the independent autopsy on Jeffrey Epstein and testified in the trial of O.J. Simpson.
According to the New York Daily News, Benjamin Crump, an attorney for Floyd’s family, suggested that the family’s decision to hire an independent medical examiner was influenced by distrust from “so many other cases where they have these people who work with the city come up with things that are such an illusion.”
“We’re not going to rely on this DA or this city to tell us the truth. We already saw the truth,” said Crump, presumably in reference to the graphic video taken of Floyd’s arrest.
Crump declined to speculate on the future contents of the medical examiner’s official findings, reports the news agency.
“They were living, breathing, walking just fine until the police accosted them and assaulted and battered them,” said Crump.
According to a criminal complaint filed against Derek Chauvin, the former officer who was charged Friday with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter, the official medical examiner has preliminarily determined that Floyd likely died from a combination of three factors, as The Daily Wire previously reported.
“The autopsy revealed no physical findings that support a diagnosis of traumatic asphyxiation or strangulation. Mr Floyd had underlying health conditions including coronary artery disease and hypertensive heart disease. The combined effects of Mr. Floyd being restrained by the police, his underlying health conditions and any potential intoxicants in his system likely contributed to his death,” said the complaint, originally obtained by CNN.
On the evening of his death, Floyd was arrested for allegedly spending counterfeit money, and “stiffened up, fell to the ground, and told officers he was claustrophobic” when they tried to lead him to the squad car, according to the criminal complaint.
Chauvin, the officer who has been charged in his death, arrived soon after, and tried to help the others get Floyd into the car.
The criminal complaint against Chauvin continues as follows:
While standing outside the car, Mr. Floyd began saying and repeating that he could not breathe. The defendant went to the passenger side and tried to get Mr. Floyd into the car from that side and [officers] Lane and Kueng assisted.
The defendant pulled Mr. Floyd out of the passenger side of the squad car at 8:19:38 p.m. and Mr. Floyd went to the ground face down and still handcuffed. Kueng held Mr. Floyd’s back and Lane held his legs. The defendant placed his left knee in the area of Mr. Floyd’s head and neck. Mr. Floyd said, “I can’t breathe” multiple times and repeatedly said, “Mama” and “please,” as well. The defendant and the other two officers stayed in their positions.
The officers said, “You are talking fine” to Mr. Floyd as he continued to move back and forth. Lane asked, “should we roll him on his side?” and the defendant said, “No, staying put where we got him.” Officer Lane said, “I am worried about excited delirium or whatever.” The defendant said, “That’s why we have him on his stomach.” None of the three officers moved from their positions.
BWC video shows Mr. Floyd continue to move and breathe. At 8:24:24, Mr. Floyd stopped moving. At 8:25:31 the video appears to show Mr. Floyd ceasing to breathe or speak. Lane said, “want to roll him on his side.” Kueng checked Mr. Floyd’s right wrist for a pulse and said, “I couldn’t find one.” None of the officers moved from their positions.
At 8:27:24, the defendant removed his knee from Mr. Floyd’s neck. An ambulance and emergency medical personnel arrived, the officers placed Mr. Floyd on a gurney, and the ambulance left the scene. Mr. Floyd was pronounced dead at Hennepin County Medical Center.
Following the description of the encounter, the criminal complaint emphasizes that Chauvin had his knee on Floyd’s neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, including 2 minutes and 53 seconds of time during which Floyd was “non-responsive.”
New York Daily News reports that Floyd’s family “simply ‘does not trust anything coming from the Minneapolis police department’ after the first official description of his death on Monday night was that he resisted arrest and died from an apparent medical condition.”
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