An attorney for former Minneapolis police officer Thomas Lane believes the charges against his client should be dropped because George Floyd allegedly overdosed on fentanyl as he resisted arrest, according to Fox News.
The court documents Attorney Earl Gray filed on Monday (Aug. 17) stated that a disappearing white spot on Floyd’s tongue during the bodycam video looked like “two milligrams of fentanyl, a lethal dose.”
“All he had to do is sit in the police car, like every other defendant who is initially arrested. While attempting to avoid his arrest, all by himself, Mr. Floyd overdosed on Fentanyl,” the court documents read. “Given his intoxication level, breathing would have been difficult at best. Mr. Floyd’s intentional failure to obey commands, coupled with his overdosing, contributed to his own death.”
According to the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s autopsy report, fentanyl and methamphetamine were found in Floyd’s system at the time of his death. However, the family was able to get a private autopsy conducted on Floyd’s body and found that he died from “asphyxiation from sustained pressure” and drugs were not listed as a factor.
Famed forensic pathologist Dr. Michael Baden said that “Floyd had no underlying medical problems that caused or contributed to his death.”
“Sustained pressure on the right side of Mr. Floyd’s carotid artery impeded blood flow to the brain, and weight on his back impeded his ability to breathe,” he said. “The independent examiners found that weight on the back, handcuffs and positioning were contributory factors because they impaired the ability of Mr. Floyd’s diaphragm to function.”
Last month, Lane’s attorney filed to have the charges against his client dropped based on lack of probable cause. Gray says his client asked twice if the officers should turn Floyd over on his side and Derek Chauvin, the cop who had his knee planted on Floyd’s neck for almost nine minutes, said no.
Lane is charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter.