As we previously reported, the family of George Floyd hired a private medical examiner to conduct the autopsy of George’s body. That autopsy has just confirmed that George passed away from asphyxiation, and his tragic death has been ruled a homicide.
According to ABC News, the independent autopsy found that the homicide was “caused by asphyxia due to neck and back compression that led to a lack of blood flow to the brain.”
The examiners reportedly found that weight on the back, handcuffs and positioning of the body are some of the main factors of George’s death because they impaired the ability of his diaphragm to function.
Initially, the medical examiner who handled George’s first autopsy reported that their finding did not reveal any physical evidence to support a diagnosis of traumatic asphyxia or strangulation.
Instead, the report cited Floyd’s previously underlying health conditions including coronary artery disease and hypertensive heart disease.
“The family and I reject this notion… that the knee from the police officer on George’s neck for almost nine minutes was not the proximate of his death,” attorney Benjamin Crump said in a statement before the independent autopsy.
The previous medical examiner’s office also released a statement saying:
“The autopsy alone cannot answer all questions germane to the cause and manner of death, and must be interpreted in the context of the pertinent investigative information and informed by the results of laboratory studies.”
As we previously reported, officer Derek Chauvin was arrested and charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter after he was seen on camera with his knee on George Floyd’s neck.
