One of the officers charged in the murder of Minneapolis resident George Floyd–who died after police officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on his neck for nine minutes as Floyd repeatedly said “I can’t breathe”–will argue in court that Floyd was actually the one responsible for his own death, the Los Angeles Times, via Yahoo, reports.
The lawyer for officer Thomas Lane, who was charged as an accomplice to murder for holding down Floyd as he struggled to breathe, said that he intends to argue that a combination of a heart condition and an overdose of fentanyl caused his death.
Two independent autopsies, however, concluded that Floyd’s death was a homicide.
Lane’s attorney, Earl Gray, claimed “None of these guys — even Chauvin — actually killed him,. He killed himself. We are going to show that my client and the other cops were doing their jobs.”
Floyd’s death, caught on camera, caused outrage across the country, leading to protests from coast to coast. The four officers involved in the murder were fired and charged with various offenses. All four are currently out on bail.
The 46-year-old Floyd was questioned by police for suspicion of passing a counterfeit $20 bill. Lane approached Floyd’s car and asked him if he had taken drugs, to which Floyd replied he was “hooping,” a term meaning he was high.
After Floyd stepped out of his car, the officers tried to place him in a police car, which Floyd passively resisted, saying he was claustrophobic. Officers then wrestled Floyd to the ground, with Chauvin placing his knee on his neck for nine minutes, long after Floyd had lost consciousness. Floyd died of heart failure during the encounter.