I kind of seriously doubt that either autopsy report will be the deciding factor in a trial.
There is no disputing the video evidence that Floyd complained he could not breathe, that he lost consciousness, that Chauvin continued to use the force that caused Floyd's complaint
There are several videos out there. My hearing is bad, but I am pretty sure I heard Floyd utter that he couldn't breath while he was still standing and no officer was applying any kind of pressure that would cause a person to experience difficulty breathing.
From the criminal complaint/arrest document for Officer Chauvin:
"While standing outside the car,Mr. Floyd began saying and repeating that he could not breathe. The defendant went to the the passenger side and tried to get Mr. Floyd into the car from that side and Lane and Kueng assisted."
This happened before Floyd was ever put on the ground.
Would love to know exactly how much fentanyl Mr. Floyd took and when. Did that happen to be the evidence he swallowed as I read somewhere? Back in the day, fentanyl by itself was utilized as a primary drug for the induction of general anesthesia for major cadiac and other big surgeries where CV "stabilty" was desired. That "stability" however was dependent on airway control and full respiratory support. Otherwise respiratory failure soon occurs and bad things follow... ask Prince! They go rigid as a board as well making ventilation by mask difficult without the aid of muscle relaxants.
High dose narcotics kill readily in a narcotic "naive" patient or person. Would be interesting to know if Floyd was using, just selling, or maybe both! Did he ingest something right before he was arrested? Did the police know what he ingested at the time? What were they waiting for as they "restrained" him? Was medical help called and were they forced to play "Dr." at the scene not knowing all of the facts or having the right supplies and equipment?
The knee to the neck looks bad for sure and certainly could have not helped matters for the reasons mentioned above, BUT there could easily be a lot more that clouds the overall picture in this case. It is certainly not a good time to be a potential "scapegoat" right now in our political/racial climate. Thank you to those willing serve as LEO's and put yourselves in these difficult situations quite frequently anymore. Most people would not/could not do it, are more than happy to be and expect to be protected, and are often the first to cry foul when a mistake has been made by a human being. Not worth dying to get a nice funeral with lots of patrol cars with lights flashing, name on a billboard for awhile, maybe a small marker by highway, and a spouse and kids left behind without a parent, IMHO.
When was the ambulance called? My bet is the officers called it during initial contact before Floyd ever passed out, either because they saw he was not right in the head ie drugs, or to cover for him complaining about not breathing when they first brought him to the squad car, before they put him on the ground and restrained him.
