George Floyd tested positive for COVID-19, autopsy shows

MINNEAPOLIS Minnesota (Agencies) —George Floyd, the handcuffed black man who died after being restrained by Minneapolis police, had previously tested positive for COVID-19, according to a 20-page report released by the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office.

The report came with the family’s permission. Floyd had a heart attack while being restrained by officers, and classified his May 25 death as a homicide.

The report by Chief Medical Examiner Andrew Baker spelled out clinical details, including that Floyd had tested positive for COVID-19 on April 3 but appeared asymptomatic. The report also noted Floyd’s lungs seemed to be healthy, but he had some narrowing of arteries in the heart.

The county’s earlier summary report had listed fentanyl intoxication and recent methamphetamine use under “other significant conditions” but not under “cause of death.” The full report’s footnotes noted that fentanyl toxicity signs could include “severe respiratory depression” and seizures.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison on Wednesday upgraded charges against Chauvin to 2nd-degree murder, and also charged the three other officers on the scene with aiding and abetting.

Ben Crump, Floyd’s family attorney, earlier decried the official autopsy — as described in the original complaint against Chauvin — for ruling out asphyxia. An autopsy commissioned by the Floyd family concluded that he died of asphyxiation due to neck and back compression.