By STEVE KARNOWSKI and TAMMY WEBBER Associated Press
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.
FILE In this courtroom sketch, from left, former Minneapolis police Officer Tou Thao, attorney Robert Paule, attorney Natalie Paule, attorney Tom Plunkett, former Minneapolis police Officer J. Alexander Kueng, former Minneapolis police Officer Thomas Lane and attorney Earl Gray appear for opening statements for their trial in the killing of George Floyd in federal court on, Jan. 24, 2022, in St. Paul, Minn. Floyd died May 25, 2020, after Officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee against his neck as Floyd, who was handcuffed, said he couldn’t breathe. Judge Paul Magnuson abruptly recessed on Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2022 after one of the defendants tested positive for COVID-19. (Cedric Hohnstadt via AP, File)
“Oxygen delivered to the heart and brain is critical to survival,” Systrom said.
J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao are accused of depriving Floyd, 46, of his rights when they failed to give him medical aid as Chauvin knelt on the Black man’s neck for 9 1/2 minutes while Floyd pleaded for air. Kueng and Thao are also accused of failing to intervene in the May 2020 killing that triggered protests worldwide and a reexamination of racism and policing.
Kueng knelt on Floyd’s back, Lane held his legs and Thao kept bystanders back. Their trial resumed Monday after being abruptly suspended last week because one defendant tested positive for COVID-19.
Systrom is the second medical expert called to testify by prosecutors.
>>> READ MORE: Federal Trial in The Death of George Floyd: Daily Trial Highlights
FILE – This combination of photos provided by the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office in Minnesota on June 3, 2020, shows, from left, former Minneapolis police officers J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao. The former policer officers are on trial in federal court accused of violating Floyd’s civil rights as fellow Officer Derek Chauvin killed him. Judge Paul Magnuson abruptly recessed on Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2022 after one of the defendants tested positive for COVID-19. (Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office via AP, File)
Last week, Dr. Andrew Baker, Hennepin County’s chief medical examiner, said Floyd died after police “subdual, restraint and neck compression” caused his heart and lungs to stop. He said heart disease and drug use were factors but not the “top line” causes. He said Floyd had an enlarged heart that needed more oxygen than normal, as well as narrowed arteries.
Testimony began Jan. 24 after a jury was selected in one day.
Kueng, who is Black, Lane, who is white, and Thao, who is Hmong American, are charged with willfully depriving Floyd of his constitutional rights while acting under government authority. The charges allege that the officers’ actions resulted in Floyd’s death.
FILE – In this image from police body camera video shown as evidence in court, Minneapolis police Officers Thomas Lane, left, and J. Alexander Kueng, second from right, gather information as they take George Floyd into custody outside Cup Foods in Minneapolis, on May 25, 2020. Former police Officers Tou Thao, Kueng and Lane are on trial in federal court accused of violating Floyd’s civil rights as fellow Officer Derek Chauvin killed him. (Minneapolis Police Department via AP, File)
Chauvin was convicted of murder and manslaughter in state court last year and pleaded guilty to a federal civil rights charge. He remains in prison.
Lane, Kueng and Thao also face a separate state trial in June on charges alleging that they aided and abetted murder and manslaughter. All three have been free on bail since shortly after they were charged in June 2020.
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Webber contributed from Fenton, Michigan.
Find Court TV’s full coverage of the death of George Floyd here: www.courttv.com/the-death-of-george-floyd-murder-trial/
