Derek Chauvin trial: George Floyd’s coroner says police restraint ‘more than he could take’

George Floyd died ‘because he had no oxygen in his body’, medical expert says

Hennepin County Medical Examiner Dr Andrew Baker is expected to testify today in the murder trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin.

Dr Baker is the only person who performed an autopsy on George Floyd, following his death in May 2020 in the custody of Mr Chauvin and three other Minneapolis officers.

The former officer faces two murder charges after he knelt on Mr Floyd’s back for more than nine minutes during the arrest for a counterfeit $20 bill nearly 12 months ago.

Dr Baker’s testimony will come a day after two major witnesses for the state testified in court on Thursday that Mr Floyd died when Mr Chauvin kneeled on his neck until he couldn’t breathe.

“Mr Floyd died of positional asphyxia, which is a fancy way of saying he died because he had no oxygen in his body,” said Dr Bill Smock, a forensic medical specialist and police training doctor.

“When the body is deprived of oxygen, in this case from pressure on his chest and back, he gradually succumbed  to lower and lower levels of oxygen until it was gone and he died,” he added.

Earlier in the day, Dr Martin Tobin, a lung specialist, reached a similar conclusion on the stand.

“Mr Floyd died from a low level of oxygen,” he said. “It’s like the left side is in a vice. It’s totally being totally pushed in, squeezed in from each side,” he added.

The jury is set to reconvene at 9:15am CT (3:15 UK) on Friday, as the prosecution continues to state its case.

• Police restraints killed George Floyd, third doctor testifies
• George Floyd died ‘because he had no oxygen in his body’, second medical expert says
• Who are the leading prosecution and defence attorneys in the Derek Chauvin trial?
• Derek Chauvin: Will he take the stand and what is he charged with?

Check out The Independent’s live updates and analysis below.

Key Points

• Medical examiner who led George Floyd’s autopsy says police restraints ‘more than he could take’
• Police restraints killed George Floyd, third doctor testifies
• George Floyd’s death wasn’t a heart attack or overdose, pathologist says
• George Floyd died ‘because he had no oxygen in his body’, medical expert says

[9 April 2021 21:54 · Josh Marcus]

County medical examiner defends ruling George Floyd’s death a homicide

County medical examiner Andrew Baker closed out his testimony on Friday with a defence of his main conclusion: that police kneeling on top of George Floyd caused his heart and breathing to stop, while drugs and heart disease were lesser contributing factors.

“My opinion remains unchanged,” Mr Baker said. “It’s what I put on the death certificate last June. That’s cardiopulmonary arrest complicating law enforcement subdual, restraint, and neck compression. That was my top line then. It would stay my top line now.”

[9 April 2021 22:17 · Josh Marcus]

The trial is done for the day

Ok, that’s the end of week 2 of the Derek Chauvin murder trial, and what a week it was.

It began with fellow Minneapolis policemen condemning ex-officer Derek Chauvin for not following proper training and using excessive force on George Floyd.

It concluded with medical experts arguing it was primarily this force, as well as lesser factors like pre-existing heart disease and drug use, which caused Mr Floyd’s death.

[10 April 2021 00:24 · Josh Marcus]

Signing off

That’s all for our rolling coverage of the Derek Chauvin murder trial. Thanks for reading, and do stay tuned with The Independent for all the latest news and analysis of this landmark case.

[10 April 2021 00:25 · Josh Marcus]