George Floyd’s family releases results of independent autopsy into his death

Benjamin Crump, attorney for the family of George Floyd, spoke at a press conference where the results of an independent autopsy into Floyd’s death were released.

Video Transcript

BENJAMIN CRUMP: It is imperative that we understand, as we all demand justice, that we have to look not only at the video that tells us and common sense what happened, but that we apply that with the forensic science, because it's critical. And one should not suggest that we didn't see what we saw. And what we saw should be consistent with what the science purports.

As attorney [INAUDIBLE] and I have said, the ambulance was a hearse. Why was this? Because not only the knee to his neck, but also the knees to his back that compressed his lungs and frustrated them from being able to contract to take air in and out.

So even if there an opinion that there was no harm to his trachea, that is not conclusive in any way as to what caused his death. These doctors are going to explain it to you as the medical professionals they are. But as a simple person being a voice for equal justice trying to tell the people who watch that video, that horrific video where everybody else could see that they were killing them except the police-- or did they know they were killing them?

You can look at the knees to the back, as we've all looked at the knees to his neck, because they are both significant. Mr. Floyd's death was a homicide by the officers who taunted him while holding him down for more than eight minutes. And the officers who stood by Tony by doing nothing, as you said, was a physical blue shield-- the blue shield we always talk about in the black community, a living symbol of the code of silence from these suggested good officers saying bad officers brutalize us but saying nothing.

Thank god there were witnesses and video on that night as George struggled for breath.