A new autopsy report has revealed that George Floyd, the African-American man who was killed tested positive for coronavirus.
Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Andrew Baker said the type of test performed for the autopsy, called PCR, can show a positive result “for weeks after the onset and resolution of clinical disease.”
The 20-page report released by the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office came with the family’s permission and after the coroner’s office released summary findings on Monday that he had a heart attack while being restrained by former Police officer, Derek Chauvin.
Andrew Baker said: “the autopsy result most likely reflects asymptomatic but persistent PCR positivity from previous infection” — meaning the virus played no known role in Floyd’s death and he was unlikely to have been contagious.
The county’s earlier summary report had listed fentanyl intoxication and recent methamphetamine use under “other significant conditions” but not under “cause of death.” The full report’s footnotes noted that signs of fentanyl toxicity can include “severe respiratory depression” and seizures.
Floyd, whom police suspected of trying to pass a counterfeit bill to pay for cigarettes, was pronounced dead at a hospital shortly after being pinned down for 9 minutes by a police officer.
Three other Minneapolis police officers involved in the death of George Floyd will be facing charges, U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar says.
Klobuchar tweeted Wednesday that Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison will also upgrade charges against Derek Chauvin, already arrested on third-degree murder, to second-degree murder in Floyd’s death.
However, she did not give details into the exact charges that will be filed against the remaining three former police officers: Thomas Lane, Tou Thao and J. Alexander Kueng.