MINNEAPOLIS — The civil rights trial of three former Minneapolis police officers resumed Monday with a Harvard pulmonologist testifying that George Floyd died of asphyxia from pressure on his neck and restrictions to the movement of his midsection.
The pressure of Derek Chauvin's knee on Floyd's neck compressed Floyd's airway while being held in the prone position against the hard asphalt impeded his diaphragm's ability to expand and draw breath, Dr. David Systrom said.
Systrom, who is on staff at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston and has published extensively, went through a detailed explanation of heart-lung function through a series of demonstrative videos. He was the first witness after court was paused last Wednesday due to a positive COVID-19 test by a defendant.
