Two autopsies say George Floyd's death was homicide

Two autopsies say George Floyd's death was homicide

New post-mortem analysis of what happened to George Floyd, the African American man killed in police custody, at odds with the official county medical examiner.

Caroline Malone reports.

Two autopsies have both found that George Floyd's death was a homicide, but gave different reasons as to how he died.

Dr. Allecia Wilson helped carry out an independent autopsy of Floyd, whose death in police custody in Minneapolis sparked days of mass protests.

"The evidence is consistent with mechanical asphyxia as the cause of death and homicide as the manner of death." Mechanical asphyxia - meaning a physical force interfered with oxygen supply.

Michael Baden, a second doctor involved, said he thinks pressure on Floyd's back and neck caused him to stop breathing.

"When he said, 'I can't breathe' - unfortunately, many police are under the impression, if you can talk, that means you're breathing.

That is not true.

I am talking and talking and talking and not breathing in front of you." Floyd's family requested the independent autopsy.

But those findings are at odds with with the Hennepin County Medical Examiner's office.

A Monday (June 1) press release said Floyd had quote: "experienced a cardiopulmonary arrest" - a heart attack - with "fentanyl intoxication" and "recent methamphetamine use" as significant conditions.

Dr. Baden said however that no underlying medical conditions had led to his death.

"Fifty years I worked with city and state police in New York and I am very pro-police work in general, but there are more than a few rotten apples that come up in the death and deaths that occur during police restraints and that has to be further addressed and hopefully this will help do that."