Cops' lawyers make bombshell claims in George Floyd case: Bodycam shows Floyd ingesting fatal amount of drugs before arrest; he died of overdose



Defense Attorney Eric J. Nelson — lawyer for former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin — said the late George Floyd was the victim of a careless overdose rather than police homicide.

Authorities charged Chauvin with murder in connection with Floyd's May death, which stemmed from an altercation purportedly involving counterfeit money.

In light of the allegations, Nelson is requesting a judge to drop all charges against Chauvin, who has pleaded not guilty.

An attorney for one of the other officers involved in Floyd's death also says bodycam footage shows the moment Floyd reportedly ingested a lethal amount of drugs.

What are the details?

According to a Monday report from ABC News, Nelson filed the motion in Hennepin County, Minnesota, District Court on Friday, alleging that the prosecution has not shown probable cause in charging Chauvin with second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter.

In the motion, Chauvin's attorney insists the former police officer carried out Floyd's detainment by the book — including the use of a "Maximal Restraint Technique." Nelson said Chauvin believed the technique was necessary, out of concern that Floyd could harm himself or Chauvin and his fellow officers during the detainment.

Nelson has said that Chauvin and other responding officers were trying to help Floyd — who was clearly acting erratically during the detainment — out of concern for the man and the possibility that he might fall and strike his head, be hit by an oncoming vehicle in the road, and more.

Nelson insisted that the Minneapolis Police Department has approved training materials on such use of force, which shows an officer placing a knee on a subject's neck in order to subdue him.

The motion also noted that the autopsy on Floyd concluded that there was both fentanyl and methamphetamine in the late suspect's system — otherwise known as a "speedball."

Floyd, who suffered from hypertensive heart disease as well as arteriosclerosis and hypertension, also reportedly was positive for COVID-19 at the time of his death.

"Put simply, Mr. Floyd could not breathe because he had ingested a lethal dose of fentanyl and, possibly, a speedball," a portion of the motion read. "Combined with sickle cell trait, his pre-existing heart conditions, Mr. Floyd's use of fentanyl and methamphetamine most likely killed him. Adding fentanyl and methamphetamine to Mr. Floyd's existing health issues was tantamount to lighting a fuse on a bomb."

Further, Hennepin County Medical Examiner Dr. Andrew Baker also added that if Floyd were found dead in any other circumstance — in this case, "home alone and no other apparent causes, this could be acceptable to call an [overdose]."

The Hennepin County Medical Examiner's office ruled Floyd's death a homicide, determining that he died because of "cardiopulmonary arrest complicating law enforcement subdual, restraint, and neck compression."

However, the autopsy report found no apparent bruising or trauma to Floyd's neck, neck muscles, or back as a result of the restraint.

Judge Peter Cahill will address Nelson's motion in a Sept. 11 court hearing, the outlet reports.

What else?

Three other officers were also charged with aiding and abetting murder following Floyd's death.

Attorney Earl Gray, who represents former officer Thomas Lane, said in a motion filed last week that Floyd intentionally swallowed fentanyl tablets while he and his fellow officers — including Chauvin — attempted to take Floyd into custody.

In the motion, Gray said that bodycam footage of the arrest shows a "white spot" on Floyd's tongue — which disappeared moments later. He also argued that Floyd, at the time, was in the process of swallowing "2 milligrams of fentanyl, a lethal dose" to avoid being caught with the drugs on his person.

"All [Floyd] had to do is sit in the police car, like every other defendant who is initially arrested. While attempting to avoid his arrest, all by himself, Mr. Floyd overdosed on Fentanyl," Gray wrote in the motion. "Given his intoxication level, breathing would have been difficult at best. Mr. Floyd's intentional failure to obey commands, coupled with his overdosing, contributed to his own death."

Gray is also maintaining that charges against his client should be dropped.

Breaking: New filings show medical examiner found 'fatal level' of fentanyl in George Floyd's system



New filings in the case against the former Minneapolis police officers involved in the death of George Floyd show that a medical examiner said Floyd had enough fentanyl in his system that it could have been lethal.

The report from the Hennepin County medical examiner released on Tuesday details his comments about the results of the toxicology test on Floyd.

"That is a fatal level of fentanyl under normal circumstances," the report read.

However, the report reiterated the medical examiner's opinion that there were a multitude of causes contributing to his death.

"[Dr. Andrew Baker] said that if Mr. Floyd had been found dead in his home (or anywhere else) and there were no other contributing factors he would conclude that it was an overdose death," said the June 1 memo, according to KMSP-TV.

The release was a part of a request from the attorneys representing Tou Thao, one of the former Minneapolis police officers facing charges in the death of Floyd, 46.

An independent autopsy of Floyd ordered by his family found that he died from "asphyxiation from sustained pressure," and it reported evidence of "neck and back compression that led to a lack of blood flow to the brain." That finding was released in June by an attorney for the family that also claimed that no other medical issue contributed to his death.

Thao, along with two other former police officers, is facing charges of aiding and abetting second-degree murder. Derek Chauvin, the former officer recorded on video kneeling on Floyd's neck, was charged with second-degree murder.

A previously released report from the same medical examiner's office found that Floyd had also recently used methamphetamine before his death.

The controversial death of Floyd on May 25 led to Black Lives Matter protests erupting all over the nation, some of which turned into violent rioting and looting. Critics of the law enforcement system said the case was emblematic of the racist bias in society.

Here's more about the case against the former Minneapolis officers:

Who Will Oversee Case Of Four Ex-MPD Officers Charged In George Floyd's Death?www.youtube.com