Another George Floyd autopsy has been released. Floyd’s family commissioned private pathologist, Dr. Michael Baden, to conduct the new autopsy. Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office conducted the first one, which revealed no evidence of asphyxiation or strangulation in Mr. Floyd’s death. The findings of the new autopsy are nearly the polar opposite of the first.
Baden’s autopsy says that George Floyd’s cause of death was due to “mechanical asphyxiation.” Pressure placed on Floyd’s back and the knee placed on the side of his neck led up to his death, the autopsy says. Officer Derek Chauvin did, in fact, have his knee on the side (or back) of Floyd’s neck for nearly eight minutes. But that restraint is permitted under Minnesota Police guidelines.
Nothing about Mr. Floyd’s medical history or pre-existing conditions contributing to his death is mentioned in the second autopsy. However, one line in the reports of the autopsy is very interesting. Baden concludes that there are no pre-existing conditions that contributed to Floyd’s death. That sounds like a classic lawyer maneuver.
A normal person may read that and think Floyd has no pre-existing conditions. But that sentence could be interpreted as “although George Floyd has pre-existing conditions, none of them led up to his death.”
Smoke And Mirrors
The Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s office, however, did discover Floyd’s pre-existing conditions. He had coronary artery disease and hypertensive heart disease. Remnants of fentanyl and meth were also found in his system. The cause of death in both autopsies was ruled as “homicide.” But that does not indicate a crime nor is it an accusation, charge, or guilty verdict. “Homicide,” in this context, simply refers to how a person died.
It’s strange that the second autopsy focuses primarily on the neck and back as to where the death most likely came from, while the first one is more holistic. One would think that hard drugs like meth and fentanyl are important to mention when speaking about the cause of death. But maybe not, at least not in this case, at this time.
Who Is Dr. Michael Baden?
Dr. Michael Baden is a well-known celebrity pathologist. He testified on behalf of OJ Simpson. He conducted private autopsies for Michael Jackson, Chokwe Lumumba, Aaron Hernandez, and more. His most recent high-profile private autopsy was Jeffrey Epstein.
Why would George Floyd’s family pick this man, out of all the pathologists in the world? That’s hard to determine. Maybe it has something to do with their celebrity ambulance-chaser of a lawyer, Benjamin Crump. Every time someone black dies by a perceived “injustice” and a cash payout is imminent, Crump is there.
Mainstream media, and some regular people, have dismissed the first autopsy result as balderdash. Probably because it does not fit their narrative of an evil, murderous cop. It’s not truly proper to totally dismiss either one. Baden’s character and motives can be questioned, but that’s it. A true third party should come in and be the tiebreaker. And all of the facts need to be laid on the table. Not just ones that are palatable and convenient.
Sources:
Two autopsies both find George Floyd died by homicide, but differ on some key details – CBS News
George Floyd Was on Fentanyl, Medical Examiner Says, As Experts Dispute Cause of Death
County Officials Rule George Floyd Death Was A Homicide : NPR
Ex-NYC medical examiner to perform autopsy on George Floyd
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