- The Washington Times - Monday, June 1, 2020

The family of George Floyd, the black man who died last week in Minneapolis police custody, plans to announce Monday the results of an independent autopsy challenging the county medical examiner’s preliminary findings.

Benjamin Crump, an attorney for the Floyd family, said family members and the legal team would make the announcement at 3 p.m. EST Monday, “uncovering the truth and pursuing #JusticeforGeorgeFloyd.”

Among those scheduled to appear are Dr. Michael Baden, the high-profile pathologist hired by the family after a preliminary county autopsy found that Mr. Floyd did not die of asphyxiation.

The Hennepin County Medical Examiner found that the 46-year-old Floyd had “underlying health conditions including coronary artery disease and hypertensive heart disease.”

“The combined effects of Mr. Floyd being restrained by police, his underlying health conditions and any potential intoxicants in his system likely contributed to his death,” said the complaint filed Friday by the Hennepin County Attorney.

Former Minneapolis Officer Derek Chauvin was charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter in the death of Mr. Floyd after kneeling on the handcuffed man’s neck for nearly nine minutes.

Mr. Crump released a statement from the family afterward saying that they were “not surprised yet we are tragically disappointed in the preliminary autopsy findings.”

“We hope that this does not reflect efforts to create a false narrative for the reason George Floyd died,” the statement said.

• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.

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