Post-mortem on George Floyd says homicide

The death of George Floyd has been declared a homicide after an official post-mortem examination.

The 46-year-old African American died last Monday after a white police officer, Derek Chauvin, kneeled on his neck for nearly nine minutes.

In videos that have gone viral, Floyd could be heard saying he couldn’t breathe, but the officer continued to keep his knee on his neck, even after he had passed out.

His death has led to days of protests against police brutality against African Americans and a racist police force.

Details of post-mortem

Floyd’s post-mortem examination was done by the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s office.

The report said Floyd suffered a cardiac arrest. His death was caused by “cardiopulmonary arrest complicating law enforcement subdual, restraint, and neck compression”.

The findings come after the family of the deceased also hired private medical examiners to carry out a private post-mortem examination.

The family released a statement saying Floyd died from asphyxia as a result of a compression on his neck and back.

Homicide

The statement from Floyd’s family’s legal team said the report found out that his death was a homicide.

At a press conference on Monday, a former New York City medical examiner, Dr Michael Baden, suggested the victim would be alive if he wasn’t denied breath.

“The cause of death in my opinion is asphyxia, due to compression to the neck – which can interfere with oxygen going to the brain – and compression to the back, which interferes with breathing,” he said.

The lawyer for Floyd’s family, Benjamin Crump, added that everything pointed to the brutal actions of Officer Chauvin and two other police officers having caused Floyd’s death.

“Beyond doubt he would be alive today if not for the pressure applied to his neck by Officer Derek Chauvin and the strain on his body by two other officers.”

Floyd’s tragic death has sparked global outrage and prompted expressions of solidarity with the family of the victim.

E A Alanore

* Asaase Radio 99.5 FM. Launching 14 June. Tune in or log on to live streaming.

* Twitter: @asaaseradio995