George Floyd died from heart trouble, not restraint: Defense expert

George Floyd died because he suffered an irregular heart rhythm due to his heart illness while being restraint by police, experts say.

George Floyd died of a sudden heart rhythm disturbance as a result of his heart disease, a forensic pathologist testified for the defense at former Officer Derek Chauvin's murder trial, contradicting prosecution experts who said Floyd succumbed to a lack of oxygen from the way he was pinned down. Dr David Fowler, a former Maryland chief medical examiner who is now with a consulting firm, said Wednesday the fentanyl and methamphetamine in Floyd's system, and possibly carbon monoxide poisoning from auto exhaust, were contributing factors in the 46-year-old Black man's death last May. “All of those combined to cause Mr. Floyd's death,” he said on the second day of the defense case.