Doctors hired by the family of the late George Floyd have determined his death was a homicide by asphyxiation. They made public their autopsy findings Monday, and affirmed Floyd died from asphyxia or lack of oxygen due to the compression of his neck by a Minneapolis police officer.
The second and independent autopsy by the famed Dr. Michael Baden and another doctor determined Floyd died due to compression on his neck and back. Floyd was murdered on May 25 when Derek Chauvin, an officer of the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD), knelt on his neck for close to nine minutes.
"The cause of death, in my opinion, is asphyxia, due to compression to the neck -- which can interfere with oxygen going to the brain -- and compression to the back, which interferes with breathing," said Dr. Baden, a former New York City medical examiner, in his autopsy report.
Dr. Baden and the other doctor found Floyd's death a homicide. He said what they found is consistent with what people saw on the videos on the internet. He said there are no other health issues that could contribute to Floyd's death. He also noted police have the wrong impression that if a person can talk, a person can breathe. "That's not true," said Dr. Baden.
Floyd was arrested and handcuffed by four cops for paying for cigarettes he bought with an allegedly fake $20 bill.
Dr. Baden's findings are completely different from that of the Hennepin County Medical Examiner in Minneapolis, Minnesota. On May 29, the county coroner released a preliminary autopsy report declaring Floyd didn't die from strangulation or asphyxiation, as determined by Dr. Baden. Instead, it blames Floyd's death on a combination of heart disease, "potential intoxicants in his system" and from being restrained by officers of the MPD.
The coroner said its autopsy revealed no physical findings that support a diagnosis of traumatic asphyxia or strangulation. It said Floyd had underlying health conditions including coronary artery disease and hypertensive heart disease, and concluded the combined effects of Floyd being restrained by police, his underlying health conditions and any potential intoxicants in his body likely contributed to his death.
What the coroner is saying is Floyd basically killed himself because he had a heart condition and might probably have been under the influence of drugs at the time of his death. The coroner still hasn't released Floyd's toxicology report one week after the man's murder.
Dr. Baden's report is completely at odds with the coroner's report and is fueling outraged cries the MPD, which is headed by an African-American (police chief Medaria Arradondo), is engaged in whitewashing Floyd's killing by exonerating Chauvin and his three colleagues this early.
Chauvin has been arrested but his three colleagues remain scot-free and haven't been charged with Floyd's death. Chauvin, however, has only been charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. Floyd's family want Chauvin charged with first-degree (or intentional) murder.
