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The legal team also intends to subvert Floyd’s legal cause of death, alleging a fentanyl overdose. Hennepin County Medical classified the casualty as a homicide due to neck compression and smothering. The officials found fentanyl in his corpse, but not in a significant amount.
The attorneys of two of the Minneapolis former police officers involved in George Floyd's assassination are using a victim blame strategy on the case.
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Earl Gray, the lawyer for Thomas Lane, is pushing the case to alleged substance abuse and drug trafficking by Floyd. Legal experts said this approach takes advantage of feeding the 'dangerous black man stereotype,' a dangerous tactic considering social anti-racism unrest.
"Mr. Floyd was, as the officers had suspected, an addict. He was worse than that," Gray wrote.
The legal team also intends to subvert Floyd's legal cause of death, alleging a fentanyl overdose. Hennepin County Medical classified the death as a homicide due to neck compression and smothering. The officials found fentanyl in his corpse, but not in a significant amount.
New @ACLEDINFO data show that while more than 90% of demonstrations since #GeorgeFloyd's killing are peaceful, they're increasingly met with violence by government forces, non-state groups, and counter-demonstrators across the #US.
— Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (@ACLEDINFO) September 4, 2020
Key findings ▶️ https://t.co/Hrv4zYUgjt pic.twitter.com/W8jfOXzyIa
Dereck Chauvin's attorney evoked a prior arrest in Floyd's criminal record, in 2019. Gray and Eric Nelson said Floyd was unresponsive to officers' commands and had to be physically restrained. They also referred to opioids' presence in his system back then.
"Everything you need to know is on that horrific video. When police do inexcusable things, the defense is always to kill the victim all over again by dredging up their history and assassinating their character," said the lawyer of George Floyd's family Ben Crump.
Dereck Chauvin, the former officer who stood on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, faces second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and manslaughter charges. Thomas Lane, J Kueng, and Tou Thao would be judged for aiding and abetting second-degree murder and manslaughter.
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