In the criminal trial for the violent death of the African American George Floyd, his friend reported about their mutual dependence on strong painkillers. It is the „classic story of people who become addicted because they suffer from chronic pain,“ Courteney Ross testified in a court in Minneapolis yesterday. „I had her on my neck, he on my back.“
She and Floyd took pain medication on prescription, but sometimes bought pills on the street or the „black market“, reported the 45-year-old mother of two, who was with Floyd for almost three years before his death. They tried to fight the addiction several times, but then relapsed again.
Because of an overdose in the hospital
According to her testimony, Floyd was hospitalized for several days due to an overdose in March 2020. After that he was „clean“ until he apparently started taking pills again two weeks before his death.
Floyd was pulled over in May for a suspected fake $ 20 bill. A video recorded with a cell phone records a death throes lasting more than nine minutes; It shows how the white policeman Derek Chauvin pressed the knee into the neck of the 46-year-old for several minutes, although the latter complained several times that he could not breathe.
The 45-year-old chauvin has been charged with murder and manslaughter; if convicted, he faces up to 40 years in prison. The policeman, who has since been dismissed from the service, has no guilt. His lawyer Eric Nelson blames Floyd’s addiction and previous illnesses for his death.
Traces of fentanyl in the blood
The autopsy actually found traces of fentanyl, a synthetic opioid used to treat severe and chronic pain, in Floyd’s body. However, the report named the cause of death as a cardiovascular arrest due to „pressure on the neck“.
In response to Nelson’s persistent questions about Floyd’s opioid addiction, the family’s attorney, Ben Crum, accused the defense of fabricating a story of Floyd’s fentany consumption as the cause of death. But he wanted to „remind the world that witnessed his death on video“ that „George went, spoke, laughed and breathed easily“ before Chauvin pressed his knee on his neck.
