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George Floyd Dead - Officers Fired and Charged - Discuss it Here

posted by martyb on Tuesday June 02 2020, @07:30PM   Printer-friendly

martyb writes:

African-American George Floyd's death has led to marches, demonstrations, acts of violence, and looting across the USA and in other parts of the world. Emotions are running high. We will not attempt to accuse or defend anyone here. Just attempt to lay out the information we have and offer it up for the community to discuss. Many comments about this incident have been posted to unrelated stories on this site. This is, therefore, an attempt to provide one place on SoylentNews where people are encouraged to discuss it. So as to not derail other stories on the site, I kindly ask you focus those comments here.

Wikipedia has a page about this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing_of_George_Floyd (permanent link to the page as it appeared at the time of writing):

On May 25, 2020, George Floyd, an African-American man, was killed in the Powderhorn community of Minneapolis, Minnesota. While Floyd was handcuffed and lying face down on a city street during an arrest, Derek Chauvin, a white American Minneapolis police officer, kept his knee on the right side of Floyd's neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds; according to the criminal complaint against Chauvin, 2 minutes and 53 seconds of that time occurred after Floyd became unresponsive.[3][4][5][6][7] Officers Tou Thao, J. Alexander Kueng, and Thomas K. Lane participated in Floyd's arrest, with Kueng holding Floyd's back, Lane holding his legs, and Thao looking on and preventing intervention by an onlooker as he stood nearby.[8]:6:24[9][10]

The arrest was made after Floyd was accused of using a counterfeit $20 bill at a market.[11] Police said Floyd physically resisted arrest.[12][13] Some media organizations commented that a security camera from a nearby business did not show Floyd resisting.[14][15] The criminal complaint filed later said that based on body camera footage, Floyd repeatedly said he couldn't breathe while standing outside the police car, resisted getting in the car and intentionally fell down.[16][17][18][19] Several bystanders recorded the event on their smartphones, with one video showing Floyd repeating "Please", "I can't breathe", "Mama", and "Don't kill me" being widely circulated on social media platforms and broadcast by the media.[20] While knee-to-neck restraints are allowed in Minnesota under certain circumstances, Chauvin's usage of the technique has been widely criticized by law enforcement experts as excessive.[21][22][23] All four officers were fired the day after the incident.[24]

[...] Charges: Third-degree murder (Chauvin) Second-degree manslaughter (Chauvin)

This has been extensively covered by the media. Some outlets attempt to put their own interpretations on their coverage with their selection of video footage and with their commentary. It is difficult to find a simple video of the incident. Here is one that has coverage from the time of initial encounter of the police the officers with George Floyd up through his being taken away by ambulance. The video is a composite of shots from a restaurant's surveillance camera (Dragon Wok), Officer body cam, and bystander cell phones. YouTube footage: Full George Floyd Available Footage (21:12). If anyone has more complete footage of the arrest, please mention it clearly (with a link) in the comments.

Lastly, this is a hard time for everybody. Pandemic. Lock-down. Unemployment. Fears. Please be mindful of others' circumstances when commenting. We are a community sprung from a time of challenge. Let us continue to be here for one-another during this difficult time. SoylentNews is People.

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  • (Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 03 2020, @02:48AM (4 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 03 2020, @02:48AM (#1002555)

    According to a lie I just concocted, Baden's "autopsy" consisted of viewing the tape; it was not hands-on.

    There. FTFY.

    More info, which provides further support for GP's comment:
    https://kttc.com/2020/06/01/family-autopsy-floyd-asphyxiated-by-sustained-pressure/ [kttc.com]

    Starting Score:    0  points
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       Informative=3, Overrated=1, Total=4
    Extra 'Informative' Modifier   0  
    Total Score:   2  

  • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 03 2020, @03:41AM (3 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 03 2020, @03:41AM (#1002587)

    Original autopsy:

    no physical findings that support a diagnosis of traumatic asphyxia or strangulation

    Second autopsy:

    "Condition of the body included:

    Hemorrhage over the vertebral bodies and in the cervical region was found
    Hemorrhage on the outside of the carotid artery at the level of the C3, C4, C5 was found
    Hemorrhage in wrists and forearms was found
    Lungs not congested or infected
    No issues with the liver, spleen, intestines, kidneys

    Findings Related to Cause of Death:

    He died of asphyxia due to neck and back pressure
    Pressure on the neck and back interfered with his breathing and blood flow to the brain
    Weight on the back, handcuffs and positioning were contributory factors because they impaired the ability to breathe
    George Floyd died at the scene
    No other obvious cause of death
    The cause of death is consistent with what we see on the video. No other cause of death is present in the autopsy
    Later information will not change cause of death, but will be informative
    The toxicology findings are helpful in understanding the circumstances of death but are not a cause or contributing cause of death.

    Updated autopsy:

    cardiopulmonary arrest complicating law enforcement subdual, restraint and neck compression

    Where did that "neck compression" come from? I thought you said earlier there were "no physical findings" that supported such a theory.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 04 2020, @02:18AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 04 2020, @02:18AM (#1003031)

      Full report says he was positive for SARS-CoV-2: Fentanyl, meth and COVID-19 with an underlying heart condition.

    • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 04 2020, @08:22AM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 04 2020, @08:22AM (#1003111)

      Here is some more from the full autopsy report:

      III. No life-threatening injuries identified
      A. No facial, oral mucosal, or conjunctival petechiae
      B. No injuries of anterior muscles of neck or laryngeal
      structures
      C. No scalp soft tissue, skull, or brain injuries
      D. No chest wall soft tissue injuries, rib fractures (other
      than a single rib fracture from CPR), vertebral column
      injuries, or visceral injuries
      E. Incision and subcutaneous dissection of posterior and
      lateral neck, shoulders, back, flanks, and buttocks
      negative for occult trauma

      NECK: Layer by layer dissection of the anterior strap muscles of
      the neck discloses no areas of contusion or hemorrhage within
      the musculature. The thyroid cartilage and hyoid bone are
      intact. The larynx is lined by intact mucosa. The thyroid is
      symmetric and red-brown, without cystic or nodular change. The
      tongue is free of bite marks, hemorrhage, or other injuries.
      The cervical spinal column is palpably stable and free of
      hemorrhage.

      Still no sign of the neck injuries there.