The grieving family of George Floyd and their legal team are scheduled to announce the results of an independent autopsy Monday afternoon on the man who died in Minneapolis police custody last week. The Floyd family and their attorneys asked forensic pathologist Dr. Michael Baden to perform the review. A virtual news conference is scheduled to take place at 3 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. CT. The Law&Crime Network will provide live coverage. (Baden is husband of Law&Crime host and analyst Linda Kenney Baden.)
Floyd died last Monday. Video showed Minneapolis police arresting him. One of now ex-cops, Derek Chauvin, kneeled on Floyd’s neck for several minutes, even after Floyd pleaded with the officer to get off of him. Floyd eventually became unresponsive. Bystanders demanded that Chauvin check Floyd’s pulse. Paramedics dragged Floyd’s limp body onto a gurney. He was later declared dead.
Chauvin was fired, then charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. From the complaint:
The defendant had his knee on Mr. Floyd’s neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds in total. Two minutes and 53 seconds of this was after Mr. Floyd was non-responsive. Police are trained that this type of restraint with a subject in a prone position is inherently dangerous.
But officials also said Floyd’s “underlying” heath problems “likely contributed” to his death, and there’s no showings that support the finding that he died from strangulation or “traumatic asphyxia.” The legal team for the family is saying the medical examiner’s preliminary report didn’t discuss in detail the use of force on Floyd’s neck, and the full extent of of how the man suffered from police.
“We are not surprised yet we are tragically disappointed in the preliminary autopsy findings released today by the medical examiner,” attorney Benjamin Crump said in a statement. “We hope that this does not reflect efforts to create a false narrative for the reason George Floyd died. Attempts to avoid the hard truth will not stand, and on behalf of the family, we are fiercely committed to bringing the truth to light.”
“What we know is clear: George Floyd was alive before his encounter with police, and he was dead after that encounter,” co-counsel Antonio Romanucci said. “We believe there is clear proximity between the excessive use of force and his death.”
[Screengrab via Darnella Frazier / CBS This Morning]