TOPLINE
George Floyd had the coronavirus when he died May 25 while being forcibly restrained by Minneapolis police, according to the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s autopsy report, but the pathologist determined that COVID-19 did not play a role in Floyd’s death.
A mural of George Floyd is shown painted on the side of Scott Food Mart in the Third Ward before a ... [+]
KEY FACTS
A postmortem nasal swab found that Floyd had COVID-19 when he died, according to the autopsy report, which was released publicly with permission from Floyd’s family.
The medical examiner said Floyd tested positive for the disease on April 3 and was likely asymptomatic when he died.
Covid-19 has disproportionately impacted black Americans and Minnesota is no different: Blacks make up 5.3% of the state population, but account for 22% of total Covid-19 cases in the state, according to Minnesota Health Department data.
The toxicology report said Floyd had fentanyl and methamphetamine in his system when he died, as well as cannabis compounds and morphine; a press release summarizing the report Monday listed arteriosclerotic and hypertensive heart disease, “fentanyl intoxication” and “recent methamphetamine use” as “other significant conditions” but not “cause of death.”
The medical examiner found Floyd died of cardiopulmonary arrest while being restrained, ruling his death a homicide—a different finding than a separate autopsy commissioned by Floyd’s family, which found the cause of death to be asphyxia.
Crucial quote
"Whether or not he was intoxicated or had medications in his system is irrelevant to the cause of death, which is homicide, which is death by the hand of another," Floyd family attorney Antonio Romanucci told CNN. "The end result, which is George Floyd's death, would not be any different."
News peg
After a week of protests and riots across the county, all four officers who were on the scene when Floyd was killed have now been charged with felonies. Derek Chauvin, the officer who pinned Floyd to the ground and continued to kneel on his neck while Floyd yelled that he couldn’t breathe, had his charges bumped up to second-degree murder on Wednesday while the other three officers were charged with aiding and abetting.
