Autopsies Of George Floyd Call Death ‘Homicide,’ Family Medical Examiner Rules Cause Of Death ‘Mechanical Asphyxiation’

After two autopsies of George Floyd’s body were released on Monday, the cause of his death was ruled to be homicide.

While a preliminary report indicated that the autopsy “revealed no physical findings that support a diagnosis of traumatic asphyxia or strangulation,” the later reviews showed that Floyd was, in fact, murdered by the policemen. However, the two autopsies provided two different scenarios.

The first, which was performed by Hennepin County medical examiner, noted that the man’s cause of death had been “cardiopulmonary arrest complicating law enforcement subdual, restraint and neck compression.” While the report did show that Floyd had died by homicide, the office claimed that it should not qualify as “a legal determination of culpability or intent.”

The second autopsy, instead, was carried out by independent pathologists commissioned by Floyd’s family. On Monday, Dr. Allecia Wilson, one of the most prominent independent doctors, announced that the Minnesota man had died of mechanical asphyxiation.

The man’s death has sparked international outrage, and protesters have been marching in the streets of multiple U.S. and European cities over the past few days despite the stay-at-home orders.

While all four officers involved were fired, Derek Chauvin, the policeman who pinned down Floyd with his knee, was charged with third-degree murder, ruling out the possibility that he had killed the African-American man intentionally.

The independent autopsy was also conducted by Dr. Michael Baden, who also examined the death of Eric Garner, the African-American man who died after a prohibited chokehold had been performed by a New York City police officer on him.

Baden clarified that George, much like Garner, died because the prolonged compression stopped his blood flow and halted his breathing, and Ben Crump, one of Floyd’s family’s lawyers, corroborated the doctor’s thesis, adding that the man did not die from other conditions, as he was “very healthy.”

However, the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s office found that Floyd also had “other significant conditions,” including “arteriosclerotic and hypertensive heart disease; fentanyl intoxication; [and] recent methamphetamine use.”

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