Chauvin appeal: Judge OKs analysis of George Floyd’s heart tissue, fluids in federal case
FILE - Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin addresses the court as Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill presides over his sentencing in Minneapolis on June, 25, 2021. Chauvin asked the Minnesota Court of Appeals in a court filing, Monday, April 25, 2022, to reverse his conviction, reverse and remand for a new trial in a new venue, or order a resentencing. (Court TV via AP, Pool, File)
Derek Chauvin’s defense will be allowed to examine George Floyd’s heart tissue and bodily fluids for potential evidence as the former Minneapolis police officer appeals his conviction in federal court.
Attorney Robert Meyers, who is representing Chauvin, filed a motion last week seeking to take discovery of histology slides, tissue samples and photographs of Floyd’s heart, as well as various fluids that were sampled during Floyd’s autopsy.
The request came after Dr. William Schaetzel, a forensic pathologist from Kansas, shared his opinion with Chauvin’s former defense attorney, Eric Nelson, that Floyd died of heart failure from an excessive release of catecholamines — not from Chauvin’s actions. The official autopsy report from the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office determined Floyd’s death was a homicide caused primarily by compression on his neck.
Meyers, in support of his motion, said Schaetzel contacted Nelson about this theory before Chauvin’s federal conviction but Nelson never notified his client.
“… Nelson provided ineffective assistance of counsel to Mr. Chauvin by failing to consult with him on this issue,” Judge Paul Magnuson wrote in his order.
In 2021, Chauvin pleaded guilty to two counts of depriving Floyd of his civil rights for killing him while kneeling on his neck and denying him medical care. Chauvin is now serving a 20-year prison sentence.