The attorney representing George Floyd’s family, Ben Crump has disclosed that an independent autopsy carried out on George Floyd has shown that he died of asphyxiation from sustained pressure.
This new report suggests that George Floyd was indeed murdered by a Minneapolis police officer, Derek Chauvin who held his knee on Floyd’s neck for several minutes and ignored his cries of distress.
The independent autopsy’s findings come after the Hennepin County Medical Examiner found “no physical findings” to “support a diagnosis of traumatic asphyxia or strangulation,” according to the criminal complaint released by the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office in the arrest of former Officer Derek Chauvin.
The autopsy, which was performed by medical examiners Dr. Michael Baden and Dr. Allecia Wilson found that the compression cut off blood flow to Floyd’s brain, and weight on his back made it hard to breathe.
Attorney Ben Crump said during a Monday afternoon news conference: “George died because he needed a breath. I implore all of us to take a breath for justice, to take a breath for peace, to take a breath for our country and to take a breath for George.”
He added that the two medical examiners determined that having handcuffs on and his position impaired the ability for his diaphragm to function. They also said it appears he died at the scene.
“What we found is consistent with what people saw. There is no other health issue that could cause of contribute to the death. Police have this false impression that if you can talk, you can breathe. That’s not true,” Baden said.
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Crump on Monday called for the remaining three officers to be arrested and for the charge against Chauvin to be upgraded to first-degree murder.