The initial autopsy report on George Floyd's death states that he had drugs in his system and suffered from severe heart disease.
However, medical experts and the attorney of Floyd's family said that the medical problems do not change the fact that ex-Officer Derek Chauvin pinned Floyd down by kneeling on his neck for almost 9 minutes, thus making the whole incident a homicide.
Preexisting health conditions
According to Dr. Gregory Davis, a medical examiner for Jefferson County, Alabama, and a pathology professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Floyd has underlying health conditions.
The stress and suffering he endured for almost 9 minutes under police custody triggered his health conditions and the restraint and neck compression is also the reason behind his death.
The chairman of Florida's medical examiner's commission, Dr. Stephen Nelson, agreed with Dr. Davis' statement. Even if a person has severe heart disease and he died of a heart attack during a confrontation with the police, it is still called a homicide.
The stress that he may have felt with his interaction with the four officers was enough for him to suffer a heart attack. The death of George Floyd went viral after it was posted on Twitter and Facebook. It has sparked protests all over the world, as the public calls for the end of police brutality and racism against the black community.
Ex-Officer Derek Chauvin was arrested and charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter but was later changed to second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. The three officers in the scene who just stood by and watched were also charged with aiding and abetting.
False official autopsy report
The report sent in by Andrew Baker from the Hennepin County Chief Medical Examiner states that George Floyd died of cardiopulmonary arrest, restraint, neck compression, and complicating law enforcement subdual.
The key findings of the examiner displeased Floyd's family because the official autopsy did not include asphyxia. This led to Floyd's family to seek independent autopsy, in which the conclusion shows that Floyd died of asphyxiation because of the compression on his neck and back.
Dr. Nelson slammed the autopsy report released by the Hennepin County Chief Medical Examiner and said that cardiopulmonary arrest is a meaningless term as it means that Floyd's heart and breathing stopped, which happened when he died.
The report should have stated traumatic asphyxia because, based on the video, Floyd's neck and back were compressed, cutting off the supply of oxygen on his lungs and brain. The autopsy found signs of tobacco use, signs of fentanyl, methamphetamine, and THC, which can be found in the system of marijuana was used.
However, medical examiners believe that the presence of the substances is not relevant to the death of Floyd. The autopsy also reports that Floyd tested positive for COVID-19 on April 3. It is now a concern for the medical examiners who handled his body.
Although the autopsy did not find signs of the virus on Floyd's lungs, as he does not have pneumonia or other signs that go along with the coronavirus, but his body can still infect others.
Related Article: George Floyd Video: Three Footage Put Together Shows Final Moments Before His Death
