The defense attorney representing ex-Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin claimed in court George Floyd died from a drug overdose and not because of Chauvin’s knee lodged in his neck for more than 8 minutes and 45 seconds.
Chauvin’s lawyer, Eric Nelson, made that claim during his opening statement as the highly anticipated criminal trial got underway in Minneapolis on Monday, March 29, 2021. Chauvin, 45, is charged with second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter and faces 10½ years to 15 years in prison if convicted, according to USA Today.
During his opening remarks, Nelson said Floyd placed a speedball in his mouth to conceal the fact he was carrying illicit drugs as officers approached him. The cops wanted to question Floyd about allegedly trying to pass a counterfeit $20 bill at a convenience store moments earlier. The speedball was a combination of methamphetamines and fentanyl, Nelson said according to live coverage supplied by CNN and MSNBC.
Nelson said during the court proceedings that the store’s employees told officers that Floyd appeared “drunk” and that he had quickly fallen asleep in his car, another suggestion that Floyd was under the influence of some substance.
As the defense attorney tried to hammer that point home in his cross-examination of 911 dispatchers, store surveillance video from across the street from where Floyd died shows that three officers had great difficulty removing Floyd from the car. Nelson emphasized in court that Chauvin is 5-foot-9 and 140 pounds and that Floyd towered over the officer at 6-foot-3 and 240 pounds.
Nelson continued by saying Floyd already had a compromised heart and that his condition was exacerbated by his drug consumption on Memorial Day 2020. Autopsy reports confirmed that illicit narcotics including meth and fentanyl were in Floyd’s system.
