Medical experts' testimony dismissed the defendant's claims that George Floyd died from previous drug use. The police officer who kneeled on Floyd's was charged with murder and manslaughter.
Floyd's death contributed to igniting Black Lives Matter rallies around the worldImage: Jim Mone/AP/picture alliance
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A lung and critical care specialist said Thursday that George Floyd died from a lack of oxygen after former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin pinned him down.
Dr. Martin Tobin of the Edward Hines Jr. Veterans Affairs Hospital and the Loyola University medical school in Illinois told the jury in Chauvin's murder trial that Floyd's breathing was compromised while Chauvin kneeled on the back of his neck for several minutes. Tobin said the pressure from Chauvin's knee, as well as the hard surface on the street, Floyd's prone position and another officer's knee on his back made it difficult for Floyd to breathe.
Tobin said the lack of oxygen resulted in brain damage and caused Floyd's heart to stop. Tobin added that the elevated levels of carbon dioxide found in Floyd's blood were because Floyd could not breathe for nearly 10 minutes before paramedics began artificial respiration.
While examining video of the Chauvin's attempted arrest of Floyd, Tobin said, "at the beginning, you can see he's [Floyd] conscious, you can see slight flickering, and then it disappears." He added, "That's the moment the life goes out of his body."
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If you can talk, you can breathe
Chauvin's lead attorney Eric Nelson said that officers could hear Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, talking, meaning that Floyd could still breathe. Nelson pointed to earlier testimony that Minneapolis officers are trained that if people can speak, they can breathe. Tobin said in his testimony that people can speak until the airway narrows to 15% capacity, after which "you are in deep trouble."
Protests against racism, police brutality around the world
People around the world took to the streets following the killing of George Floyd to demonstrate against racial inequality and police violence.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/R. Schmidt
Washington, DC
One of the largest rallies in the United States was held in the capital, Washington, DC, where thousands of people of all colors took to the streets near the White House, which was barricaded with black metal grates.
Image: Getty Images/D. Angerer
New York City
Thousands of protesters in New York City gathered in the city's squares and parks to demonstrate.
Image: imago images/Bildbyran/J. Marklund
Berlin
People in the German capital sat in silent protest for 8 minutes and 46 seconds — the amount of time a white police officer kneeled on George Floyd's neck before he lost consciousness as three other officers stood nearby.
Image: Getty Images/M. Hitij
Munich
Some 30,000 people assembled at Munich's Königsplatz to show solidarity with other protesters and the Black Lives Matter movement.
Image: picture-alliance/ZUMAPRESS/S. Babbar
St. Petersburg, Florida
People of St. Petersburg in the US state of Florida went out in the rain to make their voices heard.
Image: imago images/ZUMA Wire/D. Shadd
Paris
Hundreds of people gathered in Paris defying a police ban on large protests. Members of the multiracial crowd chanted the name of Adama Traore, a black man whose death while in police custody has been likened by critics to Floyd's death.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/A.-C. Poujoulat
Manchester
Many protesters, including some of these in the English city of Manchester, wore protective face masks to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/P. Ellis
Basel
Arond 5,000 people gathered in Basel, Switzerland, in a Black Lives Matter demonstration there.
Image: picture-alliance/KEYSTONE/G. Kefalas
Adelaide
Crowds filled Victoria Square in Adelaide after receiving special permission for the event. The march through the southern Australian city was held after police Commissioner Grant Stevens approved the rally on Friday. "This is a unique and extraordinary event. There is a sentiment that suggests people should have a right to protest on significant matters,'' Stevens said.
Image: Getty Images/T. Nearmy
Tunis
In Tunis, Tunisia, hundreds of protesters chanted: "We want justice! We want to breathe!"
Image: Getty Images/AFP/F. Belaid
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Chauvin, a 45-year-old white man, was charged with the murder and manslaughter of Floyd after videos surfaced of Chauvin and other officers pinning Floyd down while attempting an arrest. Floyd was accused of attempting a purchase with a counterfeit $20 bill. The video sparked protests against police brutality around the United States and the world.
Fentanyl not an issue
The defense had claimed that an autopsy on Floyd revealed fentanyl and methamphetamine in his system. They claimed that increased levels of fentanyl, an opioid commonly found in pain medication, but abused in the ongoing opioid epidemic in the US, could have led to Floyd's death.
Forensic Toxicologist Dr. Daniel Isenschmid of NMS Labs told the court that Floyd had relatively low levels of fentanyl, and that he did not believe that an overdose led to his death. The doctor said he had examined the toxicology reports of more than 2,000 people arrested for driving under the influence of drugs. Dozens of those samples had higher fentanyl quantities than Floyd in their bodies and lived.
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On cross-examination, Chauvin's attorney suggested there was no real way to know how much fentanyl Floyd had ingested and Isenschmid agreed.
Tobin also rejected the defense's claim that drugs could have caused Floyd's death. He said a fentanyl overdose would have shown a sharp decrease in the frequency of breaths. Tobin said Floyd did not decrease his breathing until he lost consciousness.
"A healthy person subjected to what Mr. Floyd was subjected to would have died," said Tobin. Dr. William Smock, an emergency and forensic medicine expert who works with police, agreed with Tobin.
"He [Floyd] is saying: 'Please, please. Get off of me, I want to breathe, I can't breathe.' That is not a fentanyl overdose, that is somebody begging to breathe," said Smock.
Remembering George Floyd through street art
George Floyd's murder by police officer Derek Chauvin inspired street artists around the world to express their support with the Black Lives Matter movement.
Image: Octavio Jones/REUTERS
A global icon
Former police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty of the murder of George Floyd. The Black man's brutal death in May 2020 had sparked a worldwide movement of solidarity that was expressed through protests and art. This mural features George Floyd's face and the words, "I can breathe now," a reference to his last words as Chauvin was kneeling on his neck: "I can't breathe."
Image: Octavio Jones/REUTERS
Many faces, one message
Black Lives Matter: In Minneapolis, George Floyd's murder was followed by violent protests against police brutality toward African Americans. On this wall on Hennepin Avenue, the city commemorates not only George Floyd, but also African Americans Eric Garner, Breonna Taylor, Tamir Rice and Philando Castile, who were also killed by police officers.
Image: Mark Hertzberg/ZUMAPRESS/picture alliance
Street art in Gaza
George Floyd became a global figure, depicted in street art around the world. Here in Gaza City, a woman walks past a large mural linking Floyd to the Black Lives Matter movement. Chauvin, the police officer who pressed his knee on Floyd's neck, now faces
up to 40 years in jail after being found guilty on all murder charges.
Street art can also be used to mark a memorial site, as seen here in front of this painting of George Floyd, which was also set up in Minnesota in January 2021. Mourners left flowers and political messages in front of his portrait at the intersection of 38th Street and Chicago Avenue South, where Floyd died.
Image: Tim Evans/NurPhoto/picture alliance
Black Lives Matter in NYC
A temporary Black Lives Matter mural in Manhattan, New York City, displays names of Black people who have been victims of police violence. The Black Lives Matter protests raged around the country in the summer of 2020, gathering hundreds of thousands of demonstrators.
Image: picture alliance
An inauguration mural
In the US capital, Washington, multiple murals commemorate the Black Lives Matter movement and show the faces of those who have died in connection with police brutality. The use of the patriotic colors, red, white and blue, is particularly striking here.
Image: picture alliance
Remembering the victim
This work of street art featuring George Floyd's face is located in Venezuela, in the town of Valencia. It was commissioned by the city's mayor. The microphone is a reminder that Floyd had also made a name for himself as a rapper.
Image: Juan Carlos Hernandez/ZUMAPRESS/picture alliance
'I can't breathe'
George Floyd died after a police officer pressed his knee on Floyd's neck on May 25, 2020. Throughout the 8-minute, 46-second incident, Floyd stated several times that he could not breathe. His last words were painted onto the artwork in Berlin's Mauerpark.
Image: Alexander Borais/Zoonar/picture alliance
A call for solidarity
In Cologne, Germany's fourth largest city, you can find this painting honoring the political struggle of the Black Lives Matter movement. In many major German cities in the summer of 2020, people took to the streets in solidarity with the BLM movement.
Image: Christoph Hardt/Geisler-Fotopress/picture alliance
