A private autopsy report has found that George Floyd died not just because of the knee lodged at his neck by a white ex-police officer, but because of the other officers who helped hold him down.
An initial autopsy conducted by the Hennepin County Medical Examiner had said Mr. Floyd died of coronary artery disease, hypertensive heart disease, and possible intoxicants lodged in his system.
“The combined effects of Mr. Floyd being restrained by the police, his underlying health conditions and any potential intoxicants in his system likely contributed to his death,” the earlier autopsy read.
This differs substantially from the findings of a private autopsy commissioned by Mr Floyd’s family and conducted by Allecia Wilson of the University of Michigan and Michael Baden, a former New York City medical examiner.
The autopsy found that Mr Floyd died from asphyxiation caused by sustained neck and back compression that led to a lack of blood flow to his brain, Washington Post wrote.
“The autopsy shows that Mr Floyd had no underlying medical problem that caused or contributed to his death. This is confirmed by information provided to Dr. Wilson and myself by the family.” Mr Baden said.
Mr Wilson described the manner of death as homicide at a news conference Monday.
Also, the family’s lead lawyer, Benjamin Crump, said emergency medical records showed Mr Floyd was dead at the scene.
“For George Floyd, the ambulance was his hearse,” Mr Crump said in a statement.
The knee to his back compressed his lungs and prevented them from being able to take air in and out, he said.
