Most folks that get caught sitting in their SUV with their dealer will try to get rid of the evidence ASAP. In that case, a lot of people will just quickly ingest whatever they just bought (whereas normally, they ration their drugs to spread out the high). And we know George was on probation and looking at jail time. So he likely consumed all of his narcotics right then.
The woman with him said he was somnolent and half-passed out. That's what happens when a narcotic first hits your system.
He was saying "I can't breathe" as seen on body cam while sitting in his own SUV when the cops arrived. That's one of the signs of fentanyl affecting someone who is not accustomed to that dose.
When they got in him the squad car, he started being restless, claustrophobic, and agitated. He was still saying "I can't breathe." I believe this was about the time Chauvin drove up.
Respiratory suppression is the major side effect of fentanyl and the most contributory cause of death in an OD. The person usually feels the lack of oxygen and it causes a panicked response in the beginning. Narcan could have saved him at this point.
A knee on the neck in a case where the head and neck are turned to the side will compress the lateral vasculature (with a side-to-side pressure) and make a person pass out when blood to the brain is compromised. In this position, the trachea isn't nearly as compressed as the vessels.
Death by strangulation/asphyxiation usually involved fracture of the hyoid bone resulting from a front-to-back pressure. I believe the autopsy didn't show this.
As blood the the brain is compromised, the heart compensates by increase rate and blood pressure. I believe the autopsy reported one coronary artery was 70% blocked and another was 90% blocked. This scenario can certainly caused cardiopulmonary compromise.
This compromise when combined with respiratory suppression from fentanyl ingestion would be lethal.
I think the slides the prosecutor's expert witness showed to the jury was the ratio of Fentanyl to Norfentanyl. This was just a convenient massage of the numbers to indicate he was in normal range. It seems like they probably analyzed the numbers in every which way until they found something in the normal range. But, Really this shows absolutely nothing. The total fentanyl in blood is the best and most common way to diagnose an OD.
In my medical opinion, Chauvin made the mistake of not recognizing a medical emergency and calling EMS in time to administer Narcan. However, since he arrived on the scene late, I doubt he knew much about what transpired before he arrived.
I think the medical experts for the defense could have done a much better job.
I think the slides the prosecutor's expert witness showed to the jury was the ratio of Fentanyl to Norfentanyl. This was just a convenient massage of the numbers to indicate he was in normal range. It seems like they probably analyzed the numbers in every which way until they found something in the normal range. But, Really this shows absolutely nothing. The total fentanyl in blood is the best and most common way to diagnose an OD.
In my medical opinion, Chauvin made the mistake of not recognizing a medical emergency and calling EMS in time to administer Narcan. However, since he arrived on the scene late, I doubt he knew much about what transpired before he arrived.
I think the medical experts for the defense could have done a much better job.