Derek Chauvin allowed to analyze George Floyd’s heart tissue, judge rules
Derek Chauvin speaks at his sentencing on June 25, 2021.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - A federal judge on Monday approved a motion from Derek Chauvin’s legal team to analyze heart tissue and fluid samples from George Floyd’s autopsy to see whether Floyd may have died from a heart condition.
The former Minneapolis police officer is currently serving a prison sentence on a federal conviction for violating Floyd’s civil rights. He filed a motion in 2023 seeking to overturn the conviction, claiming in part there is new evidence showing he didn't cause Floyd's death.
Alternate theory of George Floyd’s death
What we know: Chauvin’s legal team filed a motion on Dec. 13 requesting to re-examine evidence, including fluid and heart samples, as part of a claim that Chauvin kneeling on Floyd’s neck was not what killed him, but rather a heart condition.
Chauvin claims he received "ineffective assistance of counsel" arguing in part that a forensic pathologist contacted his lawyer prior to his federal indictment, suggesting Floyd may have died from a heart condition.
The pathologist suggested the examination and testing of preserved samples taken during Floyd’s autopsy would support that opinion. However, Chauvin claims his lawyer didn't discuss the pathologists' opinion with him, or request further testing of the autopsy samples.
In a decision on Monday, a federal judge granted the motion allowing Chauvin’s legal team to analyze the samples and conduct specific tests.
What they’re saying: "Given the significant nature of the criminal case that Mr. Chauvin was convicted of, and given that the discovery that Mr. Chauvin seeks could support Dr. Schaetzel’s opinion of how Mr. Floyd died, the Court finds that there is good cause to allow Mr. Chauvin to take the discovery that he seeks. Accordingly, the Court grants Mr. Chauvin’s motion," the court document reads.
What we don’t know: The motion did not say when the testing would occur or how long it would take to get results.
Chauvin's prison sentence
The backstory: Floyd died in 2020 after Chauvin kneeled on his neck for 9 ½ minutes in Minneapolis. A video captured Floyd saying "I can’t breathe" and his death sparked widespread protests and civil unrest.
The former Minneapolis police officer was sentenced to 20 ½ years on federal charges for violating Floyd’s civil rights, which is running concurrently with the 22 ½ years he received in Hennepin County court for murder charges in Floyd’s death.