Day 10 of Derek Chauvin trial testimony concludes
The tenth day of testimony in Derek Chauvin’s murder trial has come to an end.
For the second day in a row, the prosecution’s witnesses provided extensive testimony on Floyd’s cause of death. These past two days comprised a new phase in the prosecution’s case, as testimony had previously centered on Chauvin’s use of force.
Prosecutors have insisted that Floyd died from asphyxia as a result of police constraint. Chauvin’s defense has maintained that Floyd’s heart problems and drug use caused his death.
Here are some key turning points in today’s proceedings:
- Dr Andrew Baker, chief medical examiner for Hennepin county, who performed the only autopsy of Floyd, stood steadfast in his determination that the cause of death was “cardiopulmonary arrest complicating law enforcement subdual, restraint, and neck compression”. “That was my top line then,” he testified, and it’s “my top line now”.
- Baker’s firm words were important for the prosecution. A potentially thorny issue was the language Baker used regarding Floyd’s cause of death. He did not use the word “asphyxia” – which is what prosecutors are using – in his determination. Although this was an inconsistency, Baker’s point is clear: Floyd’s death stemmed from the physical encounter with police. “In my opinion, the law enforcement subdual, restraint, and neck compression was just more than Mr Floyd could take, by virtue of those heart conditions,” he said.
- Nelson tried, yet again, to present jurors with the argument that Floyd died because he had heart problems and was on drugs. He asked Baker about methamphetamine’s impact on heart function. Baker said: “It’s certainly hard on your heart … Either way, as a general rule for forensic pathology, methamphetamine is not good for a damaged heart.”
- Prosecutors also called Dr Lindsey Thomas, a forensic pathologist, as an expert witness. She was forceful in saying that Floyd did not die from pre-existing conditions or drugs. “There’s no evidence to suggest that he would have died that night, except for the interactions with law enforcement.” She also said: “The activities of the law enforcement officers resulted in Mr Floyd’s death, and that specifically those activities were the subdual, the restraint, and the neck compression.”
- Thomas’s testimony also helped address potential problems for prosecutors stemming from the “asphyxia” issue. She trained Baker and said “yes, I do” when asked if she agreed with his assessment that Floyd died from “cardiopulmonary arrest.” Her testimony seemed to convey that “asphyxia” and “cardiopulmonary arrest” were not mutually exclusive. “The primary mechanism is asphyxia, low oxygen,” she said. In other words, low oxygen caused the heart and lungs to stop.
Testimony in Chauvin’s trial will resume Monday morning.
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Court returned from break, albeit briefly.
Judge Cahill sent the jury home, as the next witness’s testimony would have continued too late into the afternoon. Proceedings resume Monday morning.
We’ll have a recap of the day’s developments posted very soon.
We’ve talked about how Baker’s testimony might present a liability for both prosecutors and the defense.
Prosecutors have said that Floyd died from asphyxia, but that was not Baker’s listed cause-of-death. Baker’s determination is that Floyd died from “cardiopulmonary arrest complicating law enforcement subdual, restraint, and neck compression.”
And while Baker has recognized that heart conditions did play a role in Floyd’s death, he has stood firm that they did not cause it, as the defense has suggested. So, Baker’s words are by no means a coup for the defense.
Nelson has nonetheless tried to chip away at prosecutors’ position that asphyxia caused Floyd’s death, using Baker’s own words. Nelson, though questioning on cross, has pointed out that Baker previously told prosecutors that the autopsy showed “no physical evidence of asphyxia.”
Blackwell, on redirect, has tried to return focus to the factors surrounding Floyd’s death—not whether he died from cardiac arrest or asphyxia. He asks Baker to state his current opinion on Floyd’s cause-of-death.
“My opinion remains unchanged...cardiopulmonary arrest complicating law enforcement subdual, restraint, and neck compression,” Baker responds.
“That was my top line then,” Baker says, and it’s “my top line now.”
Blackwell asks Baker about the underlying conditions, which Nelson has repeatedly focused on.
“They are not direct causes of Mr Floyd’s death,” he responds.
Baker’s testimony has concluded. The court is taking a short break.
Blackwell: "What, today, remains your opinion as to the cause of death for Mr. Floyd?" DR. BAKER: "My opinion remains unchanged... cardiopulmonary arrest complicating law enforcement subdual, restraint, and neck compression." https://t.co/jk1QslU6hA
— Danny Spewak (@DannySpewak) April 9, 2021
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Nelson has asked Baker about the affects of methamphetamine on an unhealthy heart.
This makes sense, given Nelson’s drug and health problem-oriented defense strategy.
Baker has contended on direct testimony that the stress of restraint was “just more than Mr Floyd could take” given his heart conditions. By asking Baker about how methamphetamine stresses the heart, Nelson is presenting another explanation as to why Floyd died.
“It’s certainly hard on your heart,” Baker says when asked about how methamphetamine impacts cardiac function. “Either way, as a general rule for forensic pathology, methamphetamine is not good for a damaged heart.”
“Methamphetamine is not good if you have bad coronary arteries,” he says at a later point.
Court has resumed, and Nelson is several minutes into his cross-examination of Baker. Nelson’s goal: undermining Baker’s determination that police restraint caused Floyd’s death.
Jury told police restraint was 'just more than Mr Floyd could take'
The prosecution has just concluded its direct questioning of Baker, whose testimony helped explain how Floyd might have had serious heart problems – but that these did not cause his death.
“In my opinion, the law enforcement subdual, restraint, and neck compression was just more than Mr Floyd could take, by virtue of those heart conditions,” he says.
“He has a heart that already needs more oxygen than a normal heart,” Baker says. “Now, in the context of an altercation with other people, that involves things like physical restraint, that involves things like being held to the ground … those events are going to cause stress hormones to pour out of your body.”
“What [the] adrenaline is going to do is ask your heart to beat faster,” he also explains.
Blackwell also asks Baker to address whether fentanyl or heart disease caused Floyd’s death.
“Mr Floyd’s use of fentanyl did not cause the subdual or neck restraint. His heart disease did not cause the subdual or the restraint.”
Blackwell then asks if these are factors “that may have contributed but weren’t the direct cause.”
“Correct,” Baker responds.
There is now a short break. Nelson is expected to cross-examine Baker when court resumes.
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Moments ago, Baker has testified about what he found while examining Floyd’s heart. Baker is saying that Floyd’s heart had problems, such as clogged arteries, but did not show signs of an acute cardiac event.
This is an important line of questioning for prosecutors. They contend that Floyd died due to a lack of oxygen caused by police restraint during his arrest. The defense has insisted that Floyd’s poor heart health, and the presence of drugs in his system, contributed to his death.
“Did you find any previous damage to his heart muscle?” Blackwell asks Baker.
“No, Mr Floyd had no visible or microscopic previous damage to his heart muscle,” Baker responds.
Baker has also testified that he did not watch video of Floyd’s arrest prior to conducting his forensic examination.
Hennepin County Medical Examiner Dr. Andrew Baker testifies that his autopsy shows George Floyd had no previous damage to his heart muscle. pic.twitter.com/g3fGdNOKFT
— Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) April 9, 2021
Court has returned from its lunch break.
Prosecutors have called Dr Andrew Baker, Hennepin county’s chief medical examiner, to testify. Baker performed the only autopsy of Floyd.
NPR recently interviewed Tracey Williams-Dillard, the CEO and publisher of the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder, on her paper’s covering the Derek Chauvin trial.
For 86 years, Tracey Williams-Dillard's family has run the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder. Now, as publisher of the paper her grandfather founded, Tracey is navigating both the Chauvin trial & the recent death of her husband from COVID-19. https://t.co/DwcFVglnLc
— KARE 11 (@kare11) April 9, 2021
The MSR offices are located just four blocks from where George Floyd was killed on 38th street and Chicago Avenue in south Minneapolis.
The publication bills itself as “one of the oldest African American newspapers in the US”.
It’s also one of the longest-standing family-run papers in the country, NPR mentioned, a byproduct of two newspapers created in 1934 by Williams-Dillard’s grandfather that eventually merged into one.
What sets the paper apart from other outlets, Williams-Dillard explains, is the Spokesman-Recorder’s ability to chronicle history from the Black perspective.
“There’s a lot of people that don’t hear our voices unless we exist. So, they can’t understand the pain, or, or the joy that we as African Americans experience if we’re not here to tell the story” she tells NPR’s All Things Considered.
“They’re not giving it from the perspective where, maybe, George Floyd’s family and us all live,” she adds.
“I’ve watched some of the national news or even in the local news and maybe they don’t feel the Black perspective as we do. And I think the African American perspective is like — it’s like you’re living it. It’s your daily life.
And I don’t know that other medias look at it that way. They’re looking at it as news, and we’re looking at it as like, we deal with this daily.
We are afraid of our Black kids, of our babies going out there and and being mistreated. I don’t want to see my grandkids go out there and have a cop on his neck. I don’t want to see that. But that’s our reality, that’s how we’re living right now.”
What do you think your grandfather Cecil Newman, the paper’s founder, would make of this moment in the United States?
“I can’t even begin to wonder what he would think. He would be disheartened, as all of us are. He would hope that this would not be a thing that we have to deal with. It’s the legacy of a Black man being killed, kneeled on by a white man on his neck. He would be devastated, as I am.
He would hope that even in his time, at that time he would have hoped that things had gotten better and not still the same.”
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Midday summary
As the trial breaks for lunch, here is a recap of a morning where there has only been one witness but her testimony has been assertive and clear, both under examination by the prosecution and cross by the defense.
The witness on the stand today so far is forensic pathologist Lindsey Thomas, called as an outside expert.
Derek Chauvin, 45, a white former police officer, is standing trial in downtown Minneapolis for murder in the death of George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, last May. We’re on Day 10 of witness testimony since opening arguments were heard on 29 March. Chauvin denies murder in the second and third degree and manslaughter.
We expect that this historic trial will reach defense witnesses next week. We’ll bring you the proceedings in a dedicated live blog each day, with a live stream, and with contemporaneous posts and analysis.
The killing of George Floyd on 25 May, re-galvanized the Black Lives Matter movement and the biggest US civil rights protests since the 1960s spread across the US in a reckoning on police brutality and entrenched racism.
Here are the main points from the trial so far today.
- Prosecutor Jerry Blackwell slammed defense lawyer Eric Nelson’s comparison of being in the prone position to ‘laying by the pool’. Nelson was trying to show that lying on one’s front is not dangerous. But George Floyd was pinned on his front with three police officers pressing down on him and his hands cuffed behind his back.
- Defense attorney Nelson pushed forensic pathologist Dr Lindsey Thomas on Floyd’s heart conditions, to argue that ongoing health problems, not police, were to blame for his death.
- Forensic pathologist Thomas, expert witness for the prosecution, was emphatic when she said: “There’s no evidence to suggest that he [Floyd] would have died that night, except for the interactions with law enforcement.”
- She pointed out that in her opinion: “The primary mechanism is asphyxia, low oxygen. Ultimately, the cause of death is the subdual, restraint, and compression.”
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Prosecutor slams defense comparison of prone position to 'laying by the pool.'
On re-direct, prosecutor Jerry Blackwell has challenged Nelson’s assertion that the prone position was something that one does “laying by the pool in Florida”.
“You were asked a question about laying by the pool in Florida. George Floyd was not laying by the pool in Florida, was he?” Blackwell asks Thomas.
“No,” she replies.
Thomas’ testimony is complete, and the court is now on its lunch break.
With Oliver Laughland
Updated
Nelson has also pressed Thomas on the prone position. This relates to Thomas’ earlier testimony; she has said that “subdual, restraint, and compression” led to Floyd’s asphxia, so it makes sense that Nelson wants to chip away at that assessment.
“Is the prone position in and of itself inherently dangerous?”
“Not if there are no other factors,” she says.
“So, the prone position is ... used in a lot of different settings?” he says, pointing to how Covid-19 patients are placed on their stomachs while recovering.
“Correct.”
Nelson goes on, and on, and on, with this point, eventually giving jurors a visual of him on holiday. We’re not flagging this to be flip; rather, we want to point out just how much Nelson is hammering down on this.
“I mean, chiropractors put people in the prone position, right? he asks. “Massage therapists put people in the prone position.”
“Yes.”
“Is the prone position on concrete inherently dangerous?”
“Again, with no other factors, as long as someone can breathe, no.”
“I could be laying by the pool in Florida, on my stomach in the prone position, not inherently dangerous.”
Nelson has finished his cross for now, and prosecutors have started their re-direct.
Updated
Nelson, as expected, has pressed Thomas on Floyd’s heart conditions, to argue that ongoing health problems, not police, were to blame for his death. He has brought up how Floyd’s heart was enlarged and that his right coronary artery showed 90% narrowing.
“When someone is exerting themselves, does that make the heart work harder?” Nelson asks. Thomas replies “yes”.
“Does that mean that it needs more blood to function, the heart needs more blood to function at that time?” Again, she responds in the affirmative.
“In this particular case, right, we have a heart that is at least above average [weight] needing more blood, a heart with an [blocked] right coronary artery –”
“Narrowed,” she corrects.
“We have a heart [where] the left anterior descending artery also had a 75% narrowing ... and then you have an exertion of stress producing adrenaline,” he continues, saying shortly thereafter, “So, the heart has to work very, very hard in this case.”
“Let’s take the police out of this,” Nelson says. “Let’s assume you found Mr Floyd dead in his residence, no police involvement, no drugs ... What would you conclude to be the cause of death?
“In that very narrow set of circumstances, I would probably conclude that the cause of death was his heart disease,” she replies.
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Court has resumed.
We’ve also got a new report from the pool reporter who’s inside the courtroom, which sheds light on the “issue” this morning.
For the first time, a representative from Chauvin’s family was in the courtroom. The judge also questioned a juror about engaging with outside information on Chauvin’s case.
“We’ve had some concerns expressed. I want to go over and see what the story is. Have you had any outside information about what’s going on in the trial? Like other attorneys that have not appeared on TV, have you seen anyone?” judge Cahill asks, per the pool report.
“I did turn on the TV and saw a lawyer. I didn’t know who she was. I turned it off,” the juror, identified by the pool reporter as a white woman, replies.
“Do you know what channel it was on?”
“No, I turned the TV on to watch a show I record. I noticed the courtroom, saw the lawyer, and turned it off.”
“Do you have indication from family members about what’s going on in the trial?” he later asks. She responds “no”.
“Anything from your mother-in-law texting?” he presses.
“My mother-in-law texted me and said it looked like a bad day for the defense.”
“No book deal in the works?” he continues.
“No. I don’t know what to expect.”
She also says that there wasn’t other contact and “if anyone approached me, I would report it”.
“There was a report there might have been some outside media. I find that she was genuinely surprised. There was not inappropriate conduct by her or from anyone on the outside,” Cahill concludes, according to the pool account.
Prosecutors have concluded their questioning of Thomas for now. Nelson has just started his cross-examination.
Updated
We’re on a break now, which gives us time to examine another part of Thomas’ testimony.
The prosecution showed jurors some photos of injuries Floyd sustained during his arrest. Thomas has said that these injuries bolster her determination that police officers’ restraint and subdual of Floyd caused his death.
CNN has an extensive portion of Thomas’ testimony on this:
So Mr. Floyd, had superficial injuries, what would be described as superficial injuries specifically on his face, shoulders, wrists. And what that does, is it supports what I saw in the videos, which is that he is being forcibly restrained and subdued and he’s trying to move into a position by rubbing his face against the concrete cement of the ground, by pulling against his handcuffs. You can see the injury to his wrists from the handcuffs. And by pushing with his shoulder. And he also had some scrapes on his knuckles on his right hand. Again that, that was from him pushing to try to get into a position where he could breathe.
Prosecutors have brought us back to the main question, asking Thomas whether Floyd would have died on 25 May “had he not been subject to” police restraint and subdual.
“There’s no evidence to suggest that he would have died that night, except for the interactions with law enforcement.”
“The primary mechanism is asphyxia, low oxygen,” she says later.
“Ultimately, the cause of death is the subdual, restraint, and compression.”
Floyd’s position prone on the ground was already dangerous to his breathing. His continued physical attempts to breathe and survive put still more stress on his body, she explains.
“It’s kind of a double whammy to his heart and lungs and muscles, and his whole system.”
Updated
Thomas has answered questions about a component of Baker’s autopsy which, until a little while ago, seemed potentially problematic for prosecutors: his mention of Floyd’s heart problems and drug use as “contributing conditions” in the report.
Remember, prosecutors contend that Floyd died from asphyxia, not these conditions; the defense has seized upon his health issues and the presence of fentanyl and methamphetamine in his blood. So, these “conditions” have loomed large in the cause-of-death discussion.
Through questioning, prosecutors have tried to show that “contributing conditions” play more into public health data than cause-of-death assessment. “What does it mean, other contributing conditions?” the prosecution asks of this phrase on death certificates.
“So, the way forensic pathologists and medical examiners usually use this, is people often think the death certificate is for that person, that specific person who died and their family. And that’s true, it does serve a very useful purpose,” Thomas says.
“But, forensic pathologists are also using death certificates for public health data purposes, and so in any given case, we aren’t just thinking about this particular person and their cause-and-manner of death. We’re also thinking: the state and the federal government collect data .”
As an example: health authorities might want to know if an 85-year-old woman who died of natural causes had recently suffered a fall.
“That’s how I would view this,” she explains.
“So other contributing conditions are conditions that may have contributed, but were not the exact cause?” the prosecution asks. She answers in the affirmative.
When asked if she considered them in determining Floyd’s cause of death, she insists: “again, it comes down to the history of the terminal events.” That is, the circumstances leading up to Floyd’s death which, in his case, was police restraint.
The description of Floyd’s death in documentation, she says, does “not fit” deaths caused by heart problems or drug overdose.
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Chauvin jury told: 'The activities of the law enforcement officers resulted in Mr Floyd’s death'
Dr Thomas has testified that she believes “the primary mechanism of [Floyd’s] death is asphyxia or low oxygen” that stem from police restraint.
Thomas’ opinion comes as prosecutors ask her opinion on Floyd’s death—in the context of Baker’s autopsy report. This is important for several reasons: Baker has previously said that Floyd’s death is due to “cardiopulmonary arrest complicating law enforcement subdual, restraint, and neck compression,” whereas prosecutors have argued at trial that it’s asphyxia.
Testimony from Thomas—who actually trained Baker—is showing that Baker’s assessment doesn’t conflict with their argument.
“Do you agree with Dr Baker’s determination on the cause of death?” prosecutors ask.
“Yes, I do,” she answers, agreeing that it’s “cardiopulminary arrest.”
“Have you, Dr Thomas, formed an opinion about the mechanism of death?
“In this case, I believe the primary mechanism of death is asphyxia or low oxygen.”
She later says: “The activities of the law enforcement officers resulted in Mr Floyd’s death, and that specifically those activities were the subdual, the restraint, and the neck compression.”
WATCH: Forensic pathologist, Dr. Lindsey Thomas, describes her expert opinion on George Floyd’s cause of death. “The activities of the law enforcement officers resulted in Mr. Floyd’s death.”
— WCCO - CBS Minnesota (@WCCO) April 9, 2021
Watch live: https://t.co/nHYrdo9ksK
Live updates: https://t.co/U8RahLHYek pic.twitter.com/5T4YWNQFkM
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Court has resumed. Prosecutors have called Dr Lindsey Thomas, a forensic pathologist, to the witness stand. Still no word on the “issue” Cahill has mentioned.
Updated
There isn’t a lot more information on this at the moment, but Judge Peter Cahill has said there is some sort of “issue” that must be discussed. While this will be on the record, it isn’t part of the courtroom video now being broadcast. So, we won’t find out more about this until later.
From Fox9’s Paul Blume:
Judge Cahill has just said from the bench, there is an "issue" that needs to be dealt with, with the jury present. He is going to turn off audio in courtroom, but it will be part of the public record. We are standing by for what needs to be addressed. #DerekChauvinTrial
— Paul Blume (@PaulBlume_FOX9) April 9, 2021
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The Minneapolis Star Tribune has some excellent analysis this morning explaining why Baker’s testimony might present challenges to prosecutors and Chauvin’s defense team. Baker, the chief medical examiner of Hennepin County, Minnesota, is expected to provide testimony about Floyd’s cause-of-death.
Baker has conducted “the only autopsy” on Floyd, and concluded his death resulted from “cardiopulmonary arrest complicating law enforcement subdual, restraint, and neck compression.” He has also noted that Floyd’s artery walls showed hardening and thickening, as well as heart disease, and drugs as “other significant conditions.”
The newspaper has obtained documents showing that Baker deems Floyd’s death a homicide and says his arrest put additional stress on his already infirm heart—heightening the possibility of a “bad outcome.” But, Baker has also voiced skepticism that positioning Floyd prone against the street, even with three officers on him, would be “any more dangerous than other positions.”
Baker has determined that Floyd’s cause-of-death was cardiac arrest. Prosecutors have told the jury Floyd’s cause-of-death was asphyxia, however, and presented extensive expert testimony to corroborate this.
“They seem to think they want as many experts … because the original report wasn’t quite as definitive as they would’ve liked,” Bradford Colbert, professor at Mitchell Hamline School of Law, tells the newspaper.
Joe Friedberg, a veteran defense attorney, reportedly says: “I think they’re not happy with the conclusions of Dr. Baker, so they are seeking to buttress the evidence as it relates to cause of death.”
Friedberg remarks that prosecutors’ strategy in using outside experts that conflict with Baker might have wide-ranging effects on other criminal proceedings: “You’ve gotta remember, there’s a whole lot of people in prison, based solely on Dr. Baker’s cause-of-death testimony, on behalf of Hennepin [County] and other towns.”
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Chauvin murder trial enters tenth day of testimony
Good morning, readers. Welcome to the Guardian’s continuing coverage of the Derek Chauvin trial. Witness testimony against Chauvin is expected to resume this morning at 915 am CT in Minneapolis, with the proceedings entering their 10th day of witness testimony.
Chauvin, a white former officer in the Minneapolis police department, is charged with second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter, for the death of George Floyd during his arrest in May 2020.
Chauvin kept his knee pressed against the neck of Floyd, who is Black, for more than nine minutes during this deadly encounter. Chauvin has entered a not guilty plea to the charges.
Trial testimony on Thursday has shown the prosecution’s case enter a new phase. Prosecutors are now focusing on Floyd’s cause of death. Prior to this, their focus has been Chauvin’s use of force.
Prosecution witnesses have now repeatedly argued that Floyd died from a lack of oxygen – and that narcotics did not cause his death. Chauvin’s lawyer, Eric Nelson, has continued to argue through his cross that Floyd died because of fentanyl and methamphetamine use.
Dr Andrew Baker, the chief medical examiner of Hennepin county, Minnesota, is expected to testify today. Baker, according to the Star Tribune newspaper, performed the only autopsy of Floyd.
Here are several key moments from Thursday’s proceedings:
- Dr Martin Tobin, a pulmonologist who testified as an expert prosecution witness, gave a clear assessment: “Mr Floyd died from a low-level of oxygen and this caused damage to his brain ... and it also caused a [pulseless electrical activity] arrhythmia that caused his heart to stop.” He also stated: “The cause of the low-level of oxygen was shallow breathing, small breaths ... shallow breaths that weren’t able to carry the air through his lungs down to the essential areas [in] his lungs.”
- Tobin’s testimony ultimately showed that the prosecution isn’t merely relying on Chauvin’s knee position – pushed against Floyd’s neck – to explain why the encounter turned fatal. “There are a number of forces that led to the size of his breath [becoming] so small,” he remarked. “He’s turned prone on the street, that he has the handcuffs in place combined with the street, and then that he has a knee on his neck, and that he has a knee on his back.”
- The prosecution nonetheless stressed the role of Chauvin’s knee played in this combination of forces. “Did Mr Chauvin’s knee on the neck of Mr Floyd’s neck cause the narrowing?” prosecutors asked of Floyd’s hypopharynx. “Yes, it did,” Tobin said.
-
Dr Daniel Isenschmid, a forensic toxicologist called by prosecutors as an expert witness, stated that the level of methamphetamine in Floyd’s body “would be consistent with [a] prescription dose”. He also said this was a “very low” amount. More, some of the fentanyl in Floyd’s blood was “metabolized”. With a fentanyl fatality, Isenschmid explained, there wouldn’t be chemical evidence demonstrating such a level of metabolism.
- Dr Bill Smock, police surgeon for Louisville metro police department in Louisville, Kentucky, testified for prosecutors as an expert witness. Smock leads the Training Institute on Strangulation Prevention’s medical committee, and gives training to law enforcement on strangulation and asphyxia. His opinion on Floyd’s death mirrored Tobin’s: “Mr Floyd died from positional asphyxia, which is a fancy way of saying he died because he had no oxygen left in his body.”
- Smock also remarked: “You can be fatally strangled, die of asphyxia, and have no bruising.” This statement was a key point. Nelson stated that Floyd didn’t have bruises on his neck. Prosecutors used Smock’s testimony to indicate that a lack of bruises didn’t undermine asphyxia as a cause-of-death.
That’s it at the moment. We will have more breaking news and analysis very soon.
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