Free Republic

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A toxicologist testified Wednesday at the federal trial of three former officers charged with violating George Floyd’s civil rights that it wasn’t drug use, heart disease nor an agitated state known as “excited delirium” that caused Floyd’s death after officers pinned him to the pavement in May 2020. Dr. Vik Bebarta, an emergency physician and toxicologist and professor at the University of Colorado in suburban Denver, bolstered the prosecution’s contention that Floyd died because of how Officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee down on the Black man’s neck. Bebarta said he concluded that Floyd “died...

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — George Floyd died because his breathing was restricted as he was restrained while handcuffed and facedown, a lung expert testified Monday at the federal trial of three former Minneapolis police officers charged with violating Floyd’s civil rights. Dr. David Systrom, a pulmonologist and critical care physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, said Floyd’s upper airway was compressed by Officer Derek Chauvin’s knee, while his position on the hard asphalt with his hands cuffed behind his back did not allow his lungs to expand, cutting off the flow of oxygen. “Oxygen delivered to the...

Former Officer Derek Chauvin was justified in pinning George Floyd to the ground because of his frantic resistance, a use-of-force expert testified for the defense Tuesday, contradicting a parade of authorities from both inside and outside the Minneapolis Police Department. Taking the stand at Chauvin’s murder trial, Barry Brodd, a former Santa Rosa, California, police officer, said officers don’t have to wait for something bad to happen; they need only to have a reasonable fear that there’s a threat and then adjust their actions accordingly. “It’s easy to sit and judge … an officer’s conduct. It’s more of a challenge...