The chief medical examiner who declared George Floyd’s death a homicide testified at the trial of three former Minneapolis police officers.

Dr. Andrew Baker testified that he was not pressured to include anything in George’s autopsy report. 

The prosecution alleged that the officers failed to save Floyd’s life when fellow officer Derek Chauvin knelt on Floyd’s neck for over nine minutes while Floyd was handcuffed, facedown, and gasping for air. 

Officers J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane, and Tou Thao are charged with violating Floyd’s constitutional rights by willfully depriving him of medical care.

Dr. Baker testified that Floyd died due to “subdual, restraint and neck compression,” which caused his heart and lungs to stop. 

While heart disease and drug use were contributing factors, they were not the leading causes of death. 

Baker stated that Floyd had an enlarged heart that required more oxygen than usual and narrowed arteries.

During cross-examination, Thao’s attorney asked Baker if he was pressured to list “neck compression” as a factor in the autopsy report. 

Baker responded that he was not pressured and added it to his report after consulting with another expert on in-custody deaths.

Baker also testified that Floyd had said, “I can’t breathe,” while struggling in a police vehicle before being restrained. 

During further questioning from prosecutors, Baker stated that he had never seen neck compression used as a form of restraint before. Responding to defense attorneys’ questions, Baker noted that he did not know of a way that Kueng’s position at Floyd’s buttocks or thighs, or Lane’s position at Floyd’s feet, would have affected his ability to breathe.

Later in the trial, jurors heard that Lane had taken online classes in 2017 and 2018 on how to ensure a person who’s being restrained doesn’t stop breathing. 

Christopher Douglas, the lead safety trainer for the county’s Department of Community Corrections and Rehabilitation, showed jurors training slides that instruct officers to use arm bars instead of body weight and to avoid putting pressure on torsos or necks. 

Officers are also trained to roll someone onto their side or into a seated position after restraints are applied and monitor them for medical issues.

The killing of George Floyd, which was recorded on a cellphone video and posted online, triggered protests worldwide and led to a reexamination of racism and policing. 

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

Lane, Kueng, and Thao are facing a separate state trial in June on charges alleging that they aided and abetted murder and manslaughter. 

The trial of the three former Minneapolis police officers charged with violating Floyd’s civil rights is ongoing.