MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – George Floyd died of a sudden alteration of heart rate as a result of his heart disease, said on Wednesday a forensic pathologist for the defense of former officer Derek Chauvin murder trial, in contradiction to prosecution experts, who said Floyd succumbed to lack of oxygen by the way he was captured.
Dr. David Fowler, a former Maryland forensic doctor who is now with a consulting firm, said the fentanyl and methamphetamine in Floyd’s system, and possibly carbon monoxide poisoning by automatic exhaust, were factors that they contributed to the death of a 46-year-old black man last May.
“All of them combined to cause Mr. Floyd’s death,” he said on the second day of the defense case.
Fowler also stated that he would classify the form of death as “indeterminate” rather than homicide, as the county’s chief forensic doctor. governed. He said Floyd’s death had too many contradictory factors, some of which could be considered homicide and others that could be considered accidental.
Chauvin’s lawyer, Eric Nelson, is trying to prove that the 19-year-old Minneapolis police veteran did what he was trained to do and that Floyd died because of his illegal drug use and his problems. of health.
Prosecutors say Floyd died because the white agent’s knee was pressed against Floyd’s neck or neck area for 9 1/2 minutes. as he lay on the sidewalk of his stomach, his hands clenched behind him and his face stuck against the ground.
Fowler listed a multitude of factors or possible: Floyd’s narrow arteries, his enlarged heart, his high blood pressure, his drug use, the stress of his moderation, the escape of the vehicle, and a tumor or growth in the lower abdomen that can sometimes play. a role in hypertension in releasing “fight or flight” hormones.
Fowler said all of these factors could have acted together to make Floyd’s heart work harder, suffer from an arrhythmia or an abnormal rhythm, and stop suddenly.
Prosecutor Jerry Blackwell launched an aggressive interrogation, attacking Fowler’s findings. He got Fowler to recognize that even someone who dies from being deprived of oxygen ultimately dies of an arrhythmia.
He also got Fowler to admit that he didn’t consider the weight of Chauvin’s gear when analyzing the pressure on Floyd’s body. Blackwell further accused Fowler of jumping to conclusions and suggesting to the jury that Floyd had a white pill in his mouth in the video of his arrest. Fowler denied saying that.
Blackwell also attacked Fowler’s testimony about carbon monoxide, which displaces oxygen into the bloodstream.
In his original testimony, Fowler said carbon monoxide could have contributed to Floyd’s oxygen depletion, noting that he was facing the end of a car’s exhaust pipe. squadron. But Floyd’s blood was never tested for carbon monoxide.
“You haven’t seen any data or results from evidence to show that Mr. Floyd had a single carbon monoxide injury. Is that true?” Blackwell asked.
“That’s right, because it was never sent,” Fowler said.
Blackwell also noted that the squadron car was a gas-electric hybrid and that Fowler had no data on the actual amount of carbon monoxide released. And he suggested that the witness assumed that the engine was running at the time. Fowler said he thought so.
The prosecutor also got Fowler to agree that it would take four minutes to cause irreversible damage to the brain if the brain is hungry for oxygen and that insufficient oxygen can stop the heart.
“And if a person dies from a low oxygen content, that person will also eventually die from a fatal arrhythmia, right?” Blackwell asked.
Fowler replied, “Correct. Everyone in this room will have a fatal arrhythmia at some point. ”
Fowler further agreed that Floyd should be given immediate attention when he went into cardiac arrest, because there was still a chance of saving him.
Several medical experts summoned by prosecutors have said Floyd died of lack of oxygen because his breathing was restricted by the way he was stopped. An expert in cardiology he rejected the notion that Floyd died of heart problems, saying everything indicates he had “an exceptionally strong heart.”
But Fowler said Chauvin’s knee to Floyd’s was not “very close to his airways” and that Floyd’s talking and moaning showed that his airway was still open. He also stated that Chauvin’s knee was not applied with enough pressure to cause bruises or scrapes on Floyd’s neck or back.
And he said Floyd was not complaining about changes in vision or other symptoms consisting of hypoxia or insufficient oxygen to the brain, and that he was consistent until shortly before he suddenly stopped moving.
“The bottom line is that it moves air in and out, and talking and making noise is good proof that the airways weren’t closed,” Fowler said.
Blackwell ended his interrogation by asking two questions before the jury: whether Chauvin’s actions played a role in Floyd’s death or whether Floyd’s death was accidental and unrelated. But the defense objected and Fowler was unable to respond.
Chauvin, 45, is charged with homicide and manslaughter for Floyd’s death after his arrest on suspicion of spending $ 20 counterfeit at a neighborhood market. The video of Floyd panting that he couldn’t breathe as viewers yelled at Chauvin to bring it down triggered global protests, violence and a furious scrutiny of racism and police in the US
The defense has not said whether Chauvin will take a stand.
Earlier Wednesday, Judge Peter Cahill rejected a defense request to acquit Chauvin, dismissing allegations that prosecutors failed to prove Chauvin’s actions killed Floyd. Requests for acquittal are routinely made in the middle of a process and are typically denied.
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Find full AP coverage of George Floyd’s death at: https://apnews.com/hub/death-of-george-floyd
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Webber reported from Fenton, Michigan. Associated Press video journalist Angie Wang contributed from Atlanta.