Floyd May Have Ingested Lethal Dose of Fentanyl During Police Interation

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In the motion, Gray said that bodycam footage of the arrest shows a "white spot" on Floyd's tongue — which disappeared moments later. He also argued that Floyd, at the time, was in the process of swallowing "2 milligrams of fentanyl, a lethal dose" to avoid being caught with the drugs on his person. "All [Floyd] had to do is sit in the police car, like every other defendant who is initially arrested. While attempting to avoid his arrest, all by himself, Mr. Floyd overdosed on Fentanyl," Gray wrote in the motion. "Given his intoxication level, breathing would have been difficult at best. Mr. Floyd's intentional failure to obey commands, coupled with his overdosing, contributed to his own death."

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"Put simply, Mr. Floyd could not breathe because he had ingested a lethal dose of fentanyl and, possibly, a speedball," a portion of the motion read. "Combined with sickle cell trait, his pre-existing heart conditions, Mr. Floyd's use of fentanyl and methamphetamine most likely killed him. Adding fentanyl and methamphetamine to Mr. Floyd's existing health issues was tantamount to lighting a fuse on a bomb." Further, Hennepin County Medical Examiner Dr. Andrew Baker also added that if Floyd were found dead in any other circumstance — in this case, "home alone and no other apparent causes, this could be acceptable to call an [overdose]." The Hennepin County Medical Examiner's office ruled Floyd's death a homicide, determining that he died because of "cardiopulmonary arrest complicating law enforcement subdual, restraint, and neck compression." However, the autopsy report found no apparent bruising or trauma to Floyd's neck, neck muscles, or back as a result of the restraint.

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