George Floyd’s family to seek independent autopsy
“The family does not trust anything coming from the Minneapolis Police Department,” attorney Ben Crump said.
The family of George Floyd will seek an independent autopsy following his tragic death on Monday (May 25). The family’s attorney Ben Crump shared the news during a press conference today (May 29).
“We’re going to take custody back of George Floyd’s body and we’re bringing in Dr. Michael Baden to perform an independent autopsy because we saw in the Eric Garner case and so many other cases where they have these people who work with the city come up with things that are such an illusion,” Crump said. “They’re going to have their own autopsy. We’re not going to rely on this DA or this city to tell us the truth. We already saw the truth.”
He added, “The family does not trust anything coming from the Minneapolis Police Department. How can they?”
The Hennepin County Medical Examiner performed a preliminary autopsy and found that “no physical findings that support a diagnosis of traumatic asphyxia or strangulation.” The combined effects of being pinned down by the officer as well as “his underlying health conditions and any potential intoxicants in his system likely contributed to his death.”
The preliminary report also states that former officer Derek Chauvin kept his knee on Floyd’s neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds and nearly 3 minutes after he became unresponsive.
Baden is a famed forensic pathologist who testified at OJ Simpson’s murder trial. He also conducted independent autopsies on Jeffrey Epstein and Michael Brown, the teen who was killed by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri back in 2014.
Floyd’s death was caught on camera and has resulted in nationwide protests. Chauvin was finally arrested today and charged with third degree murder and manslaughter. He along with the other three former officers, Thomas Lane, Tou Thao and J. Alexander Kueng, have been fired.