Pulmonary Expert Delivers Detailed Testimony at Chauvin Trial: ‘Mr. Floyd Died From a Low Level of Oxygen’

Dr. Martin Tobin, a longtime pulmonary specialist with extensive expertise in pulmonary and critical care medicine, offered detailed testimony Thursday that George Floyd died from a lack of oxygen, as the trial of Derek Chauvin continued.

Chauvin, who kneeled on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes despite pleas from bystanders and Floyd himself saying he couldn’t breathe, is facing murder and manslaughter charges. Chauvin’s defense has asserted that Floyd’s death was caused by external factors, such as an opioid addiction and bystanders interfering with police officers’ ability to care for him.

Prosecutor Jerry Blackwell asked Tobin whether he had an opinion on the cause of Floyd’s death.

“Mr. Floyd died from a low level of oxygen,” the doctor told the jury. “And this caused damage to his brain that we see and it also caused a PEA arrhythmia that caused his heart to stop.”

Tobin explained that a PEA arrhythmia is a “particular form of abnormal beat of the heart,” which is also sometimes called asphyxia.

Tobin further explained that the low level of oxygen was due to “shallow breathing,” which was caused by “a number of forces.”

“The main forces that are going to lead to the shallow breath are going to be that he’s turned prone on the street, that he has the handcuffs in place combined with the street, and then that he as a knee on his neck, and then that he has a knee on his back and down his side. All of these four forces are ultimately going to result in the low tidal volume which gives you the shallow breaths that we saw here.”

Tobin has testified as an expert witness in civil cases, but this is his first time testifying in a criminal case. He said that the state of Minnesota contacted him to review the medical records in this case, and that he has not been paid to testify.

You can watch above, via CNN.