A week of testimony in the trial of Derek Chauvin began with the Minneapolis police chief saying the former officer violated department policy during the arrest of George Floyd. It continued with medical experts offering their views on the case.
On Monday, Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo told the jury that Chauvin kneeling on Floyd’s neck was not a Minneapolis police technique and that it should have ended when Floyd stopped resisting.
“That in no way, shape or form is anything by policy. It is not part of our training,” Arradondo said.
Chauvin, who is white, is charged with second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter for the May 25 incident. Floyd, who was Black, was arrested after he allegedly attempted to pass a counterfeit $20 bill at Cup Foods, a corner market in Minneapolis.
According to prosecutors, Chauvin knelt on Floyd’s neck for nine minutes and 29 seconds while Floyd was handcuffed and pinned to the ground. He lost consciousness and was transported to the Hennepin County Medical Center emergency room, where he was pronounced dead. Video of the incident sparked protests and rioting in the Twin Cities and elsewhere along with a reckoning on the relationship between police and people of color.
MINNEAPOLIS POLICE CHIEF TESTIMONY
Arradondo said based on the photo and video evidence he has seen, Chauvin violated the department’s use of force policy. He added that Chauvin also violated policy when he failed to render medical aid to Floyd when he was in medical distress.
“That action is not de-escalation,” Arradondo said when shown a photo of Chauvin kneeling on Floyd’s neck. “That is not part of our policy or what we teach.”
Eric Nelson, Chauvin’s defense attorney, asked Arradondo various questions about the policy, as well as if an agitated crowd can affect a police officer’s mindset. Nelson also asked when Arradondo last arrested someone himself. Arradondo said it has been “many years.”
Nelson asked if a conscious neck restraint, which Chauvin used, was allowed if the pressure is applied to the side of the neck. Arradondo said it was. Arradondo told prosecutors earlier that the pressure needs to be moderate, which he did not believe Chauvin’s to be.
EXPERTS WEIGH IN ON CAUSE OF DEATH
Cause of death is a highly contested issue in the case.
Dr. Bradford Langenfeld, the primary doctor who administered care to Floyd when he was taken to the hospital, said in his testimony that he administered care for 30 minutes. Then Langenfeld pronounced Floyd dead.
On Monday, Langenfeld said Floyd was in cardiac arrest when he arrived, meaning his heart was not pumping blood to other parts of the body.
Langenfeld said that based on the information he had, a lack of oxygen, or asphyxia. likely was a cause of Floyd’s cardiac arrest. Langenfeld said paramedics gave no indication that Floyd’s death was caused by a drug overdose or a heart attack.
DEFENSE ASKS ABOUT LEVELS OF CARBON DIOXIDE IN GEORGE FLOYD’S BLOOD
Nelson asked Langenfeld about the high levels of carbon dioxide that were in Floyd’s blood, which were more than twice the level they should be.
Nelson asked if fentanyl can increase these levels, and Langenfeld said it could as the drug reduces breathing. Amounts of fentanyl and methamphetamine were found in Floyd’s body.
Nelson also asked if naloxone was used on Floyd to reverse impacts of a drug overdose. Langenfeld said to his knowledge the drug was not used.
Langenfeld added that if naloxone is used on someone experiencing a cardiac arrest, the drug is ineffective.
RESPIRATORY EXPERT
Dr. Martin Tobin, a respiratory expert, testified Thursday that during the arrest Floyd’s airway was constricted, which caused shallow breathing and not enough oxygen being pumped to his lungs and to his brain. Tobin said Floyd’s hypopharynx, a vulnerable part of the body essential for breathing, was constricted.
Tobin, who specializes in pulmonology, compared this to having to breathe through a straw, but “much worse than that.”
Tobin said if fentanyl were to have affected Floyd’s respiration, a respiration rate of about 10 would have been seen. However, Tobin said his calculations indicate Floyd had a respiration rate of 22, meaning fentanyl did not affect his breathing.
While cross-examining Tobin, Nelson emphasized that situations can change quickly and that each person may be affected by an incident differently. He asked Tobin if he would agree his analysis is theoretical. Tobin disagreed, saying he bases his findings on measurements and calculations.
MEDICAL EXAMINERS SAY GEORGE FLOYD’S DEATH WAS A HOMICIDE
On Friday, Dr. Andrew Baker, the chief medical examiner of Hennepin County, and Dr. Lindsey Thomas, a medical examiner of 37 years who in 2017 retired from Hennepin County, agreed with the autopsy results, which point to law enforcement subdual, restraint and neck compression as direct causes of Floyd’s death.
Baker said his findings about what caused Floyd’s death remain unchanged since he conducted it May 26.
In explaining Floyd’s death certificate, the two said it shows the immediate causes of Floyd’s death were “cardiopulmonary arrest complicating law enforcement subdual, restraint and neck compression.”
Other contributing factors listed were arteriosclerotic and hypertensive heart disease, fentanyl intoxication and recent methamphetamine use.
DEFENSE: DRUG USE, UNDERLYING HEALTH CONDITIONS FACTORS IN GEORGE FLOYD’S DEATH
In his cross-examination, Nelson, who has argued that Chauvin acted within his training and that Floyd’s drug use and underlying health conditions killed him, pointed to how Thomas testified earlier that no amount of methamphetamine is a safe amount. Thomas agreed.
Nelson also asked if methamphetamine can cause the heart rate to increase, and Thomas said it could. Nelson asked Thomas if there have been fentanyl overdoses at lower levels than Floyd’s. Thomas agreed, adding that each person reacts differently and has different tolerances.
Nelson also asked Thomas hypothetically what she would expect Floyd’s cause of death to be if he was found dead in his home with no police or drugs involved. Thomas said in that narrow hypothetical, she would assume it was his heart disease.
The trial is expected to continue Monday morning with more testimony.
