Private autopsy reveals George Floyd died of asphyxia

A few days ago, the family of George Floyd revealed that they would be seeking an independent autopsy following the findings of the preliminary autopsy of The Hennepin County Medical Examiner. The results for their autopsy ruled that Floyd’s death was a homicide and he died from “asphyxiation from sustained pressure.”

Famed forensic pathologist Dr. Michael Baden performed the autopsy. His findings refuted the preliminary results stating that Floyd had underlying health issues that attributed to his death. “Mr. Floyd had no underlying medical problems that caused or contributed to his death,” he said at a press conference Monday (June 1).

The autopsy found that Floyd’s death was a “homicide caused by asphyxia due to neck and back compression that led to a lack of blood flow to the brain,” said Ben Crump, the family’s lead attorney.

“Sustained pressure on the right side of Mr. Floyd’s carotid artery impeded blood flow to the brain, and weight on his back impeded his ability to breathe,” he said. “The independent examiners found that weight on the back, handcuffs and positioning were contributory factors because they impaired the ability of Mr. Floyd’s diaphragm to function.”

Baden confronted the fact that Floyd repeatedly said, “I can’t breathe” as Chauvin knelt on his neck. “Police have this false impression that if you can talk, you can breathe. That’s not true,” he said.

“For Chauvin to leave his knee on George’s neck despite warnings and evidence that his life was in danger — and to continue that course for many minutes — demands a first-degree murder charge,” said Crump.

Chauvin and three other police officers have been fired following the killing of Floyd. Chauvin has been charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter. The preliminary autopsy stated that Chauvin kept his knee planted on Floyd’s neck for eight minutes and 46 seconds. Nearly three minutes of that time was while Floyd was unresponsive.

We will keep you updated with the latest.