Maryland to Review Reports Produced Under Former ME Who Testified Derek Chauvin Did Not Kill George Floyd

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The attorney general of Maryland has said that his office supports a review by outside experts of all “in custody” death reports produced under David Fowler, the state’s former Chief Medical Examiner, after Fowler testified in the trial of Derek Chauvin that George Floyd died from a pre-existing heart condition, according to a report Friday in The Baltimore Sun.

The office of Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh said that “it was ‘appropriate’ for outside experts to review all ‘in custody’ death reports produced by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner under Dr. David Fowler,” the report said.

Frosh’s office made the announcement less than one day after receiving a letter signed by more than 431 doctors from around the country, saying Fowler’s testimony and conclusions “were so far outside the bounds of accepted forensic practice that all his previous work could come into question,” the Sun report said.

A spokeswoman for Frosh said that the office has been in contact with Gov. Larry Hogan about the review, the Sun reported.

The review comes as the attorney general’s office defends against a lawsuit brought by the family of Anton Black, a 19-year-old who died in police custody in 2018. His death was caught on video, with police holding down Black, who was unarmed, for more than six minutes.

“Fowler ruled that Black died because of a sudden cardiac event while struggling with police, and not because they pinned him in a prone position,” the Sun reported.

During Chauvin’s trial, Fowler testified that Floyd died from a sudden cardiac event, and not from Chauvin pinning Floyd to the ground in a prone position, with his knee on Floyd’s neck, for more than nine minutes.

“In my opinion, Mr. Floyd had a sudden cardia arrhythmia, or cardiac arrhythmia, due to his atherosclerotic and hypertensive heart disease – you can write that down multiple different ways – during his restraint and subdual by the police,” Fowler said in his testimony for the defense.

On cross-examination, Fowler admitted to prosecutor Jerry Blackwell that Floyd should have been given immediate medical attention, as it can save the life of someone who has gone into cardiac arrest.

Fowler’s testimony contradicted that of multiple experts, as well as the autopsy, which determined that Floyd’s death was a homicide.

Chauvin was convicted of murder and manslaughter, and faces the possibility of spending decades in prison.