Chauvin, speaking into a microphone before the jury entered the court, said it was his decision and only his decision not to testify. Questions from his lawyer Eric Nelson suggested a tense internal debate on the matter.
“I advised you, and (to say that) we went back and forth on the matter would be a bit of an understatement, wouldn’t it?” Nelson asked.
“Yes,” said Chauvin.
If he had chosen to testify, the prosecutors could have cross-examined him.
The defense reassured its case on Thursday morning.
“In my opinion, Mr. Floyd had a sudden arrhythmia or arrhythmia as a result of his atherosclerosis and hypertensive heart disease … during his restraint and subduality by the police,” said Dr. David Fowler, a retired forensic pathologist. in late 2019 as Maryland’s chief medical examiner.
Fowler also advanced a new argument that carbon monoxide from the patrol car’s exhaust may have contributed to Floyd’s death – a theory he admitted he couldn’t back up with data or test results.
Prosecutors told the court Thursday morning that they had just been informed the night before of the results of “blood gas readings” showing that Floyd’s carbon monoxide levels were normal. However, Judge Peter Cahill said the test results would not be allowed because they had communicated in advance that Dr. Fowler would advance his carbon monoxide theory.
“It is too early to make the announcement (this morning) and would hurt the defense by the late disclosure, even if not in bad faith,” Cahill said.
Several other defense witnesses have testified about Floyd’s drug use, most notably during an earlier arrest in May 2019, where he was taking opioids when police approached him in a vehicle.
Chauvin, 45, has pleaded not guilty to charges of unintentional second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter.
Judge Cahill indicated earlier this week that he would prefer to hold closing arguments on Monday because the jury will be separated afterwards. Cahill also said the prosecution would have the opportunity to get a rebuttal witness.
The two main experts on the defense
Fowler’s analysis focused on every topic except Chauvin’s reluctance of Floyd in the prone position.
He mentioned Floyd’s narrowed coronary arteries, known as atherosclerosis, and his enlarged heart because of his high blood pressure, or hypertension. Floyd’s use of fentanyl and methamphetamine, a tumor known as a paraganglioma, and the carbon monoxide were other major conditions that contributed to his death, Fowler said.
Meanwhile, he ruled out positional choking as the cause.
“Positional choking, as the term is used in court today, is an interesting hypothesis and is not supported by experimental data,” he testified. He said Floyd’s death should have been classified as ‘undetermined’ rather than murder, because there were so many competing causes.
The testimony broached the prosecution’s argument that Floyd’s leading cause of death was low oxygen because Chauvin was holding a handcuffed Floyd in the prone position – known as “positional asphyxiation.”
In a cross-examination, prosecutor Jerry Blackwell sharply questioned Dr. Fowler, repeatedly halting the doctor’s attempts to provide longer answers.
Fowler was unable to identify the point where Floyd got his “sudden” cardiac arrest, and said he did not notice Floyd’s voice getting thicker and quieter as time went on. He also said he agreed that Floyd should have received immediate medical attention on the spot.
The physician’s analysis contradicted much of what the Prosecution’s experts said last week.
Dr. Jonathan Rich, a cardiologist who testified to the prosecution on Monday, said Floyd’s heart showed no evidence of injury at all.
On Tuesday, an expert on violence said that Chauvin rightly knelt on Floyd for more than nine minutes and did not use lethal force.
“I felt Derek Chauvin was justified and acted with objective reasonableness, consistent with Minneapolis Police Department policies and current law enforcement standards in his interactions with Mr. Floyd,” said Barry Brodd, a former police officer.
Many of Brodd’s testimonies were in stark contrast to prosecution police experts and Minneapolis police chief Medaria Arradondo, who said Chauvin’s actions were “in no way shape or form” within the policy, training, ethics or the values of the department.
When cross-examined, Brodd admitted that a reasonable officer in Chauvin’s position would have known that Floyd had eventually stopped breathing, had no pulse, and offered no resistance. Despite that knowledge, Chauvin did not change his position on top of Floyd, Brodd testified.