MINNEAPOLIS — The attorney representing George Floyd’s family said Tuesday he believes the three other police officers involved in the death of the 46-year-old Minneapolis man will be charged before Floyd’s funeral in Houston next week.
Benjamin Crump added that it was “critical” that all four former Minneapolis officers be charged in Floyd”s death, FOX News reported. Floyd died in police custody after Derek Chauvin, knelt on Floyd’s neck for nearly 9 minutes as Floyd struggled to breathe.
Chauvin has been charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter but the other officers involved in the incident have not had charges brought against them – something Crump suggested he had been told would soon change, according to the report.
Crump, who has called for charges against Chauvin to be upgraded to first-degree murder, pushed back on arguments that two of the officers at the scene were rookies and had been on the job less than a month. He added that the tragic events that unfolded in Minneapolis last week were more about humanity than training.
“All of these officers were complicit in showing no humanity to George Floyd,” he said.
Separately, the state of Minnesota filed a civil rights charge against the Minneapolis Police Department on Tuesday.
Crump also took issue with the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s autopsy report that classified Floyd’s death as a homicide but also cited “other significant conditions” it said Floyd suffered from, including heart disease and hypertension. The county’s autopsy also listed fentanyl intoxication and recent methamphetamine use, though those factors were not listed under cause of death.
A separate autopsy commissioned for Floyd’s family also called his death a homicide and said he died of asphyxiation due to neck and back compression. The autopsy, conducted by the same forensic pathologist who also examined Eric Garner’s body, found compression cut off blood to Floyd’s brain and that the pressure of other officers’ knees on Floyd’s back made it impossible for him to breathe, Crump said. The family’s autopsy found no evidence of heart disease and concluded he had been healthy, Fox reported.
“We believe that the officer who has his knee on his back was just as culpable for the death of George Floyd as was the officer that put his knee in his neck based on the science,” Crump added.
However, before you respond with Michael Baden’s “independent” autopsy as reported by FOX and many other media organizations, understand that Baden is a hired man that also believed Michael Brown was shot in the back after looking at a diagram and that O.J. Simpson was innocent. Two specific items were noticed in his press conference that the media is not reporting, according to Law Officer.
- He never said it was his “expert” opinion but rather his opinion. This is to protect his integrity as an expert witness.
- Most importantly, Baden didn’t do an autopsy. He formed his opinion from watching the video and speaking to the family of Mr. Floyd.
Nothing he said can be brought into a criminal proceeding. It’s simply done to sway public opinion but we will get to him in another article. Back to the actual facts…
According to the autopsy, Floyd had two specific drugs in his system, methamphetamine and fentanyl.
A stimulant that is 50 to 100 times stronger than heroin, fentanyl is associated with more drug overdoses than any other opioid.
And combined with methamphetamine, studies indicate that fentanyl has a higher chance of inducing fatal hyperthermia. And it just so happens that hyperthermia has a direct correlation with excited delirium.
Fentanyl is also unique among the opioids in its ability to cause muscle rigidity of the chest wall, diaphragm, and larynx. Known as “wooden chest syndrome,” it’s safe to say that the combination of this drug is a recipe for heart stoppage.
Combining the deadly effects of this drug combination along with the officer’s reaction to observing signs of excited delirium very likely paints the picture as to why Mr. Floyd ended up on the ground.
The American College of Emergency Physicians’ White Paper Report on Excited Delirium Syndrome recommends two specific responses by law enforcement if they observe signs of excited delirium.
Stating that “Deescalation does not have a high likelihood of changing outcomes significantly.”
“The subjects require physical restraint (this is because if they continue to struggle it accelerates the death) combined with emergent sedation.”
“Once the decision to do this has been made, action needs to be swift and efficient, and performed with all responders present when feasible.”
This information probably shocks you and you can thank Mayor Frey and a corrupt media that has forgotten the art of investigative journalism for holding out these facts, but these will be the facts presented to a jury.
And that jury will have a decision to make “beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Did George Floyd die from excited delirium caused by the ingestion of methamphetamine and fentanyl and the ensuing struggle (before he was subdued) or was being restrained on the ground the determining factor of the death?
A restraint by the way that may have looked horrible but it did not involve strangulation or asphyxia or even a bruise. Remember, the autopsy showed no trauma on the body.
Considering the neck restraint was department policy and restraining an individual suffering from excited delirium was the best practice according to multiple scientific journals, this case is not as simple as everyone would want you to believe, Law Officer reported.
Unlike the emotions running through the country at this time, it is these facts that will be looked at by a jury.
