Trial of the three police officers | George Floyd could have been saved, says doctor

(Saint Paul) George Floyd could have been saved if Minneapolis police officers had placed him in a position to make it easier to breathe, and his chances of survival “would have doubled or tripled” if they had performed CPR as soon as his heart stopped, a lung specialist testified Monday at the trial of three former officers accused of violating Mr Floyd’s civil rights.

Mr Floyd died because his upper airway was compressed by Officer Derek Chauvin’s knee, while his position on the asphalt with his hands cuffed behind his back – which two other officers held down – did not not allow his lungs to expand, mentioned D^r David Systrom. This restricted the flow of oxygen and increased carbon dioxide levels in her body, the pulmonologist and intensive care physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston said during the federal trial of J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tu Thao.

“Oxygen delivered to the heart and brain is essential for survival,” said D^r Systrom, later calling Mr. Floyd’s death “an eminently reversible respiratory failure event.”

MM. Kueng, Lane and Thao are accused of depriving Mr Floyd, 46, of his rights when they failed to provide him with medical aid as Mr Chauvin knelt on the black man’s neck for 9 and a half minutes. MM. Kueng and Thao are also accused of failing to intervene in the May 2020 killing which sparked protests around the world and a re-examination of racism and the police.

Mr. Kueng knelt on Floyd’s back and Mr. Lane held his legs while Mr. Thao held back passers-by.

D^r Systrom, who is also an associate professor at Harvard Medical School, observed body camera videos of police officers. Mr Kueng’s shows him holding Floyd’s wrist while pressing on Mr Floyd’s back, which would have prevented him from being able to relieve the pressure. In Mr. Lane’s, it appears that Mr. Kueng’s knee is pressing on the victim’s abdomen. “It is difficult to know” if Floyd would have died without the pressure applied by Mr. Kueng, according to the doctor.

He clarified that the restriction of Mr. Floyd’s legs by Mr. Lane would also have prevented Mr. Floyd from getting into a position to breathe properly.

Prosecutor Manda Sertich asked what, if anything, could have been done before Mr Floyd lost consciousness. D^r Systrom countered that it “could have been as simple as taking pressure off the upper airway through the knee” or letting Mr. Floyd sit in handcuffs.

D^r Systrom clarified that Mr. Floyd did not die of his coronary heart disease or hypertension and that there was no evidence of a heart attack.

Mr. Chauvin was convicted of murder and manslaughter in state court last year and pleaded guilty to a federal civil rights charge. He is in prison.

MM. Lane, Kueng and Thao will also face a separate trial in June for aiding and abetting murder and manslaughter. All three were released on bail shortly after being charged in June 2020.