Dr Jonathan Rich is a cardiologist who testified in the Derek Chauvin trial. He stated: “I believe that Mr George Floyd’s death was absolutely preventable.”
During his testimony, Dr Rich said “with a high level of medical certainty that George Floyd did not die from a primary heart event, and he did not die from a drug overdose.”
He is not the first medical expert in this trial to state that George Floyd’s death could have been prevented.
Dr Jonathan Rich confirms that George Floyd did not die of drug overdose
Dr Jonathan Rich, a cardiologist, served as an expert witness called by the state in the trial of Derek Chauvin. Dr Rich confirmed that Mr Chauvin kneeling on George Floyd’s neck (along with other police restraints) is what killed him.
Speaking about George Floyd, Dr Rich stated: “He was trying to get enough oxygen, and because he was unable to because of the position that he was subjected to, the heart didn’t have enough oxygen either, which means the entire body is deprived of oxygen.”
“I can state with a high level of medical certainty that George Floyd did not die from a primary heart event, and he did not die from a drug overdose.”
Other medical experts, including Dr Andrew Baker, the county medical examiner who conducted Mr Floyd’s autopsy, and Dr Bill Smock, a forensic medical specialist and police training doctor, said much the same thing.
Dr Bill Smock said: “Mr Floyd died of positional asphyxia, which is a fancy way of saying he died because he had no oxygen in his body.”
Meanwhile, Dr Andrew Baker said: “Mr Floyd’s use of fentanyl did not cause the subdual or neck restraint. His heart disease did not cause the subdual or the neck restraint.”
Who is Dr Jonathan Rich?
Dr Jonathan Rich is a cardiologist who served as an expert witness in the Derek Chauvin trial.
According to FeinbergNorthwestern.edu, Dr Rich is an Associate Professor of Medicine at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.
Dr Rich earned his MD from Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York where he graduated with Honors. His clinical focuses include: Complex cardiovascular diseases, Heart Failure, Pulmonary Hypertension, Ventricular Assist Devices (VADs), Heart Transplantation, and more.
During his testimony at the Derek Chauvin trial, Dr Rich said:
“I believe that Mr George Floyd’s death was absolutely preventable. There was one moment in the video where I heard one of the officers say, I think he’s passing out. That would’ve been an opportunity to quickly remove him from that position of not getting enough oxygen, perhaps turn him into a recovery position, and allow him to start to expand his lungs again and bring in oxygen.”