On Wednesday, The Root reported that Dr. David Fowler, a retired forensic pathologist, testified during day 13 of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvinโs murder trial over the death of George Floyd. Fowler said on the stand that he believed Floydโs death was caused by โsudden cardiac arrhythmiaโ connected to Floydโs drug use, hypertension, and generally anything else but Chauvin pressing his knee into the back of a human beingโs neck for more than nine minutes.
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Well, it turns out that Fowler also happens to be a defendant in a federal lawsuit regarding the police-involved death of another Black man who died under circumstances that were eerily similar to that of Floyd, according to the Associated Press.
Before we get into all that, I just want to take a sec to shout out The Rootโs Joe Jurado, who has been covering the trial, for brilliantly explaining why Fowlerโs testimony was about as useful as pocketless khakis.
From our previous report:
During its case the prosecution called nearly 40 expert witnesses, most of whom did a solid job explaining their arguments in a detailed and engaging way. For example, Pulmonologist Dr. Martin Tobin did a great job breaking down on a physiological level how the actions of the officers contributed to Floyd suffocating. He made an argument and thoroughly backed it up.
Fowler, on the other hand, didnโt really specialize in any one area, and a few of his assertions were undercut upon cross-examination. He testified that he believed carbon monoxide was a factor in Floydโs death, but when asked by prosecutor Jerry Blackwell if it was true he had not โseen any data, or test results, that showed Mr. Floyd had a single injury from carbon monoxide,โ he responded, โYes, true.โ
Which begs the question: why did he even bring it up as a factor if there was no data to support it?
Anyway, according to AP, Fowler is a defendant in a lawsuit related to the 2018 death of 19-year-old Anton Black, who, according to the Baltimore Sun, โdied in the Caroline County town of Greensboro under the crushing weight of three police officers holding him downโ while he was handcuffed and prone.
Fowler was the medical examiner who conducted Blackโs autopsy, and in the suitโwhich alleges that the officers caused Black to die of asphyxiationโhe is accused of intentionally covering up for the cops by ignoring evidence of asphyxiation and exaggerating other potential factors in order support the official police narrative.
So now, I guess the only question is: How much do you believe in coincidences?
Because boooooooy, when I say itโs beginning to look like the good โdoctorโsโ only specialty is surgically removing copaganda directly from his asshole.
The thing is, Iโm not even saying heโs definitely guilty, but Iโm absolutely asking why TF this is the guy Chauvinโs defense chose as their medical โexpertโ in court this week. His testimony was essentially meritless and his credibility is currently in litigation. Itโs almost as if Chauvinโs people have said to hell with putting together a plausible defense and, instead, theyโre just waiting for America to do their jobs for them and set their client freeโand it might just work.
According to AP, the Maryland Attorney Generalโs Office is representing Fowler in the suit and earlier this month, it filed a motion to have the suit dismissed, but a hearing on the matter has yet to be scheduled.
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