Chauvin trial: Floyd’s death should be ‘undetermined’, defence expert says

George Floyd’s death should have been classified as “undetermined”, an expert has told the murder trial of former US police officer Derek Chauvin.

Forensic pathologist David Fowler told the court in Minnesota that the cause of Mr Floyd’s death was not clear.

Mr Fowler said in his view, drug use, heart disease and other factors contributed to Mr Floyd’s death.

Mr Fowler was a key witness for the defence of Mr Chauvin, who has denied charges of murder and manslaughter.

His defence team is trying to contradict earlier expert testimony that Mr Floyd died from lack of oxygen during his arrest in Minneapolis, Minnesota last May.

Prosecutors argue that Mr Floyd died of asphyxia after Mr Chauvin, 45, was filmed kneeling on his neck for more than nine minutes.

The footage of Mr Chauvin, who is white, restraining Mr Floyd, a black man, on the floor as he shouted “I can’t breathe” spurred global protests against racism.

This week the anger that exploded in the wake of Mr Floyd’s death was reignited by the fatal shooting of a black man, Daunte Wright.

The shooting happened on Sunday in a Minnesota suburb only 10 miles (16 km) away from the court where Mr Chauvin’s trial is taking place, setting off days of protests.

On Wednesday, a prosecutor charged Kim Potter, a white police officer who shot dead Mr Wright during a traffic stop, with second-degree manslaughter.

What did the defence’s expert say?
Dr Fowler, who was chief medical examiner for the state of Maryland until his retirement in 2019, was called to testify by Mr Chauvin’s defence on the 13th day of the trial.

He was questioned about the findings of the Hennepin County medical examiner, who ruled Mr Floyd’s death a homicide.

“I would fall back to undetermined, in this particular case,” Dr Fowler testified.

Agencies