The defense attorney for the Minneapolis police officer who has been charged with the murder of George Floyd claims that Floyd was the "victim of a careless overdose" rather than homicide, according to The Blaze.
Defense Attorney Eric J. Nelson has allegedly asked a judge to drop all charges against Derek Chauvin, who has decided to plead not guilty. An attorney for one of the other three officers involved in the incident suggested that bodycam footage revealed that Floyd ingested a lethal amount of drugs.
Nelson filed a motion in Hennepin County, Minnesota, District Court on Friday, saying that the prosecution has not been able to provide probable cause in charging Chauvin with the murder of Floyd, according to ABC News.
Nelson said that Chauvin carried out detainment "by the book" against Floyd, including the deployment of a "Maximal Restraint Technique." Nelson insisted that his client believed the technique was required, fearing that Floyd could have harmed himself or Chauvin and his fellow officers.
Nelson added that the Minneapolis Police Department had approved training materials that showed this use of force, which depicts an officer placing a knee on a subject's neck in order to subdue him. The motion also noted that an autopsy found that Floyd had fentanyl and methamphetamine in his system when he died—a toxic combination known as a "speedball."
Floyd was reported to have a suffered from hypertensive heart disease and arteriosclerosis and hypertension. And lastly, Floyd was allegedly 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," part of the motion said.
"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."
Hennepin County Medical Examiner Dr. Andrew Baker noted that if Floyd had been found dead in his home without any apparent causes, it would have been safe to say it was due to an overdose.
Though the Hennepin County Medical Examiner's office ruled that Floyd's death was the result of a homicide, the autopsy found no apparent bruising or trauma to Floyd's neck, neck muscles, or back as a result of the restraint.
Judge Peter Cahill is set to address Nelson's motion in a court hearing on September 11.
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