Would Derek Chauvin finally be innocent? This is the question asked since the end of May by many Internet users. On Facebook, a publication explains that George Floyd – African American who died on May 25, 2020 under the blows of several police officers including Derek Chauvin – would have finally been the victim of an overdose. “An image from George Floyd’s autopsy report indicates that the cause of his death was an overdose of fentanyl, rather than a lack of oxygen caused by Derek Chauvin’s blockage,” the post explains. “George Floyd died of an overdose – there were no life-threatening injuries,” said another user on Twitter on May 27.
But does the document really attest to this? 20 Minutes tried to answer it.
FAKE OFF
Three years after the death of George Floyd, a contextualization is necessary. It is May 25, 2020 and a new case of police violence is about to upset the United States, and more generally the whole world. That day, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, an African-American man, George Floyd, was arrested by the police after a grocer called for a story of a counterfeit note. Drunk, the man wants to get back behind the wheel, but is quickly arrested by the police. Refusing to get into their vehicle, the fight with the policeman continues and he ends up being immobilized without being able to breathe. “I can’t breathe” [ « Je ne peux pas respirer », Ndlr]can be heard in the recordings.
Following his death, many demonstrations were held using the now famous formula “Black lives matter”. [ « La vie des Noirs compte »]. Almost a year later, in April 2021, Derek Chauvin was sentenced to twenty-two and a half years in prison. The other officers – like Derek Chauvin – were fired and also sentenced to several years in prison. Following the announcement of the death of George Floyd, the same evening, the cause of his death was almost in no doubt. CCTV cameras showed the man on the ground pinned to the ground asphyxiated by the knee of Derek Chauvin.
The danger of fentanyl
Performed the next day, May 26, 2020, the autopsy was later made public. We read several elements on the health of George Floydbut also on the substances ingested before his death. In a press release published by the “Hennepin Healthecare” center in Minneapolis, the medical examiners indicate: “Other important conditions: arteriosclerotic and hypertensive heart disease, fentanyl poisoning; recent methamphetamine use.
To better understand the doubt of netizens, fentanyl is an extremely powerful opioid – 100 times that of morphine, explains CAMH (Centre for Addiction and Mental Illness in Canada). Generally prescribed by doctors as a painkiller, fentanyl circulates in large quantities in the United States and is used more as a drug… with the advantage of being very inexpensive. According to a daily article The world last May, drugs can even be considered a scourge in the country. On average, every seven minutes, someone dies from the effects of fentanyl.
Two autopsies, one conclusion
However, in the case of George Floyd, if the drug level in the blood was indicated as “fairly high”, there were no findings indicating a connection to the death of George Floyd. The autopsy concludes a homicide. “The deceased suffered a cardiorespiratory arrest while he was arrested” by the police. A second autopsy published in June 2020, at the request of the family of the deceased, advances the same conclusions. It is “a homicide caused by asphyxiation due to compression of the neck and back which caused a lack of blood circulation to the brain”.
Since the death of George Floyd, many fake news revolve around the circumstances of his death. On June 12, 2020, an article from Reuters returned to these allegations seen on social networks. According to some, George Floyd is not really dead. His family reportedly even received money for photos of him in his coffin. Others believe that police officer Derek Chauvin does not look like the identity photos published and that he would be an actor. Fentanyl poisoning is in turn among the false claims on the subject.