Attorney For Cop Charged In George Floyd Death Claims He Overdosed On Fentanyl
The latest defense for one of the cops involved in the death of George Floyd is that the 46-year-old swallowed drugs before a knee was placed on his neck for over eight minutes.
According to KTVU attorney Earl Gray, who is representing former officer Thomas Lane, alleged in a new court filing that Floyd overdosed on fentanyl while resisting arrest on May 25. He claims Floyd somehow managed to swallow the drugs while the cops were taking him into custody.
Gray claims that according to body cam footage, there was a white spot on Floyd’s tongue that disappeared, and it looked like “2 milligrams of fentanyl, a lethal dose.”
The court docs also read, “All he had to do is sit in the police car, like every other defendant who is initially arrested. While attempting to avoid his arrest, all by himself, Mr. Floyd overdosed on fentanyl. Given his intoxication level, breathing would have been difficult at best. Mr. Floyd’s intentional failure to obey commands, coupled with his overdosing, contributed to his own death."
KYVU reports, “The Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s autopsy report says toxicology testing found fentanyl and evidence of recent methamphetamine use in Floyd’s system.”
Gray is expecting to ask all charges to be dismissed against Lane.
On May 29, Chauvin was fired from the Minneapolis Police Department and arrested on third-degree murder and manslaughter charges. On June 3, his charges were upgraded to second-degree murder by the state’s attorney general Keith Ellison.
Lane, 37, and former Officers Tou Thao, 34, and J. Alexander Kueng, 26, were also arrested and charged with aiding and abetting on June 3.
A trial date for the four officers has tentatively been scheduled for March 8, 2021.
BET has been covering every angle of the police killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Rayshard Brooks and other social justice cases and the subsequent aftermath and protests. For our continuing coverage, click here.