The Hennepin County chief medical examiner who ruled George Floyd’s death a homicide is set to testify today (April 9) on what marks the 10th day of Derek Chauvin’s murder trial. Last May, Dr. Andrew Baker said Floyd died from “cardiopulmonary arrest” brought on by “law enforcement subdual, restraint and neck compression.”
Baker’s testimony arrives after a week of medical experts and police officer testimonies. Yesterday (April 8), pulmonologist Dr. Martin Tobin said Floyd died on May 25 from a “low level of oxygen” and pointed to Chauvin’s knee on his back and neck, his handcuffs and the prone position as causes.
Tobin also said that “a healthy person” without Floyd’s pre-existing medical issues would have also died under the circumstances; an important clarification, as the defense has tried to argue that Floyd died due to his health problems.
“A healthy person subjected to what Mr. Floyd was subjected to would have died as a result of what he was subjected to,” Tobin said.
Police experts like an LAPD sergeant, the Minneapolis police lieutenant and the Minneapolis police chief also testified that Chauvin’s use of force against Floyd was excessive.
“At the time of the restraint period, Mr. Floyd was not resisting. He was in the prone position, he was handcuffed, he was not attempting to evade, he was not attempting to resist, and the pressure that was being caused by the body weight could cause positional asphyxia, which could cause death,” use-of-force expert Sgt. Jody Stiger said Tuesday (April 6).
“When you add body weight to that, then it just increases the risk of death,” he added.
Chauvin’s trial is expected to last up to four weeks. The former Minneapolis police officer is charged with second- and third-degree murder, as well as second-degree manslaughter. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges. Watch the 10th day of the trial live below.