Medical Examiner Andrew Baker testifies in Hennepin County Courthouse, Minneapolis COURT TV / AP
Andrew Baker, the coroner who performed the autopsy on George Floyd, and concluded that his death was a homicide, testified this Friday in the trial against former police officer Derek Chauvin, accused of murdering the African-American, that the use of force by the officers and the pressure on his neck for more than nine minutes was "more than Floyd could bear considering his heart conditions."
Baker reaffirmed that the death was the product of "a homicide."
Chauvin's defense attempts to prove that the symbol of the racial movement overdosed and died of an arrhythmia.
For the jury to find the defendant guilty, his actions must only have been a "substantial causal factor" in Floyd's death, not the sole motive.
Due to George Floyd's health history, his heart was "limited in its ability to provide more oxygen" in a situation that placed a greater demand on him, as occurred at the time of his arrest, explained Baker, who has worked since 2004 as Chief Medical Examiner for the County of (Minneapolis), jurisdiction in which the events occurred.
Floyd's coronary arteries narrowed when cops pinned him down, a sign of "very serious underlying heart disease," the doctor said.
He also detailed that the 46-year-old African-American had "hypertensive heart disease," which means that his heart weighed more than it should.
Lindsey Thomas, a renowned forensic pathologist and Baker's mentor, testified Friday that Floyd died of suffocation due to the compression on his neck and the repression exerted by the agents who arrested him.
"There is no evidence to suggest that [Floyd] died that night except from interactions with law enforcement," said Thomas, who ruled out that an overdose was the cause of the African-American's death.
The doctor explained that the autopsy was "excellent to rule out things", such as a heart attack or a stroke, but that it was the videos that led her to conclude that Floyd died from lack of oxygen, contrary to what the Chauvin's defense.
"What I saw in all these videos is that this was not a sudden death ... There was nothing sudden about [George Floyd's] death," Thomas said.
"This is a death in which both the heart and the lungs stopped working due to the compression of the forces of order," he added.
The medical examiner agreed with Baker that the African-American's death was a homicide.
In medical parlance, a homicide refers to a death at the hands of another person or other people, but it is not a criminal determination or a legal term.
That will be decided by the 12 members of the jury.
Floyd's death certificate lists in a section designated “other conditions” that contributed to the death his heart disease and the presence of fentanyl and methamphetamine.
Thomas clarified, as the autopsy indicates, that drug use was not the cause of death in Floyd's case.
One of the points that Chauvin's defense wants to sharpen is that the word "suffocation" does not appear in Floyd's autopsy.
The forensic pathologist maintained that she also avoids using that word on death certificates because it requires too much explanation.
The defense of the ex-police officer has insisted that the presence of fentanyl and methamphetamine in Floyd's blood, added to his poor heart health, were the causes of death.
Dr. Thomas clarified that the level of methamphetamine in the African American was "very low."
Considering that data, she ruled out drug overdose as a factor in Floyd's death.
Thomas pointed out that fentanyl deaths tend to be "peaceful" and those affected "do not fight", something that, as can be seen in the brutal video, was not the case for many who are a martyr to the racial struggle.
The doctor said that, in addition to all the documents on the death, she needed to see the video that went around the world to determine what led to Floyd's death.
These images show that the detainee, handcuffed, face down, and with three officers on his body, "could not breathe adequately."
Chauvin's attorney said in opening arguments that this wasn't just about the video.
For the Prosecutor's Office, everything is there.
Thomas also highlighted the recording of the store where the African American bought a tobacco packet with a counterfeit $ 20 bill before the arrest.
In those images, which have been shown at trial, Floyd is seen to be outgoing and upbeat.
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