George Floyd died of 'asphyxiation from sustained pressure'
to his neck and back applied by Officer Derek Chauvin and two other officers,
an independent autopsy ordered by his family has found.
Attorney Ben Crump and co-counsel Antonio Romanucci, who
are representing the family of George Floyd, announced the findings of the
independent autopsy Monday afternoon.
Dr. Michael Baden and Dr. Allecia Wilson were hired by the
Floyd family's legal team to conduct the independent autopsy after they
rejected the Hennepin County Medical Examiner's official ruling last week that
he hadn’t died from 'strangulation or asphyxia'.
In contrast, Baden and Wilson say the sustained pressure
applied by Derek Chauvin on George Floyd's neck impeded blood flow to his
brain, while weight applied by two other officers, who had placed their knees
into his back, also impeded his ability to breathe.
The pathologists cited Floyd's cause of death as mechanical
asphyxia, with the manner of his death ruled a homicide.
Crump and Romanucci called for Chauvin to be charged with
first-degree murder, and also said the other three officers involved in the
incident - J Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao - should be arrested as
well, though didn't specify on what charges.
'They knew that they were applying restraints that could or
would cause death,' Romanucci said. 'They are criminally liable because they
knew what they were doing could lead to death.'
'Not only was the knee on George’s neck a cause of his
death, but so was the weight of the other two police officers on his back, who
not only prevented blood flow into his brain but also air flow into his lungs,'
he continued.
The findings of Baden and Wilson greatly differ from the
ruling of an autopsy conducted by the Hennepin County Medical Examiner's office
on Floyd last week.
Their independent evaluation also found that Floyd had 'no
underlying medical problems that caused or contributed to his death,' contrary
to the rulings of the medical examiner.
'This is confirmed by information from myself, from Dr.
Wilson, and from the family,' Baden said. '[Mr. Floyd] was in good health.'
Daily Mail
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