Chauvin, Lane, Kueng, and Thao: The George Floyd Fall Guys

More from George Parry on the George Floyd incident. I posted Mr. Parry’s first article here:

Carefully reasoned analysis of the cause of death of George Floyd based on publicly available evidence

This is a follow up and well worth your time. How come of all the media outlets in this country no investigative journalist was assigned to review the Minneapolis Police Training Manual? See the image below. It could be taken from a frame of the George Floyd video. The officers followed the manual exactly. The officers discussed excited delirium, they called an ambulance, they restrained Floyd the way the manual specifies. If a news outlet like the New York Times or Washington Post or ABC, NBC, CBS was to publish the image from the police manual on their front page or on their nightly news broadcasts, millions of people who view the image would immediately know the narrative being force-fed the American public regarding this incident is false. The media in this country is unprofessional, biased, corrupt, agenda-driven and individuals that work at these organizations do not have enough self-respect to blow the whistle. American media is a disgusting disgrace. Trump called the media the “enemy of the people” and he was right. See for yourself. I reproduced a significant portion of Mr. Parry’s latest piece, but not all of it. You should click over to read all of it. Here is the link:

The George Floyd Fall Guys

The American public has been mislead by our fake media. It is outrageous and it is still ongoing.

George Parry:

“…This is an illustration from the Minneapolis Police Department’s official training materials on how to safely and properly subdue a suspect suffering from “excited delirium”, a potentially lethal medical condition which, due to the rising use and abuse of illicit drugs, has grown to epidemic proportions on the streets of America.

Look closely. The suspect is flat on the ground with his head turned to the side in what the illustration calls “the recovery position to alleviate positional asphyxia”. The officer on the left is kneeling on the side of the suspect’s neck.

Look familiar?

Could this and related parts of the officially-approved and mandated Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) training curriculum be why former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin saw fit to kneel on the side of George Floyd’s neck? And could it be the reason why former officers  Thomas Lane, J. Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao assisted Chauvin as he knelt on the side of Floyd’s neck?

As will be explained in detail below, throughout Floyd’s confrontation with the police, he was at imminent risk of death from sudden cardiac arrhythmia caused by excited delirium. So it was that these officers followed the MPD’s official procedures for how to properly and safely subdue someone in that life-threatening condition. In doing so, they were not only keeping Floyd in the prescribed “recovery position” to alleviate his risk of asphyxiation, they were also keeping an agitated and delirious Floyd from harming himself as they awaited the arrival of the ambulance that they had twice summoned to provide medical aid to him.

So where are these well-intentioned, well-trained and dutiful public servants today? They are in jail awaiting trial on murder and aiding and abetting charges after having been universally condemned in the news media and used by neo Marxists and opportunistic criminals across the country as a pretext to riot, loot and burn. And, while they sit in their cells, not one Minneapolis official from Mayor Jacob Frey to Police Chief Medaria Arradondo or any member of City Council has come forward to acknowledge that, in subduing Floyd, these law officers were acting in meticulous accordance with the MPD training and directives designed to reduce the risk of harm to persons suffering excited delirium.

In fact, after Chauvin, Lane, Kueng and Thao were summarily fired by the MPD, Chief Arradondo apologized to Floyd’s family and acknowledged his department’s purported role in creating “the deficit of hope” that he claims existed in Minneapolis even prior to Floyd’s death.

“I am absolutely sorry for the pain, the devastation and trauma that Mr. Floyd’s death has left on his family, his loved ones, our community in Minneapolis and certainly across the country and the world” Chief Arradondo announced in a news conference.

For its part, the Minneapolis City Council has acted to defund and dismantle the police department.

All of this, mind you, from the very officials who are ultimately responsible for the training and directives that the defendant officers followed to the letter in their attempt to safely subdue Floyd who was under the influence of a massively lethal overdose of fentanyl and exhibiting the unmistakable signs of the deadly excited delirium.

By their hypocrisy and cowardice, these blame-shifting public officials, desperate to preserve their political careers and places at the public trough, have tossed these police officers to the howling mob.

As I explained in my recent American Spectator article “Who Killed George Floyd?”the physical, scientific, and electronically recorded evidence in the case overwhelmingly and conclusively proves that these defendants are not guilty of the charges and, in fact, played no material role in bringing about Floyd’s death.”

That article spelled out in detail certain key facts including, but not limited to, the following:

  • During his interaction with police, George Floyd was suffering the effects of a self-administered toxic overdose of fentanyl, a dangerously powerful synthetic pain killer signs of which “include severe respiratory depression, seizures, hypotension, coma and death.” According to his toxicology report, Floyd had over three times the potentially lethal amount of fentanyl in his blood when he expired.
  • Before he was restrained on the ground by the police, an upright and mobile Floyd complained seven times that he “can’t breathe”.
  • Police twice called for Emergency Medical Services to render aid to Floyd. These calls for medical aid contradict the popular narrative that the defendants acted intentionally and against their own self interest  to brutally kill Floyd in public before witnesses with video cameras.
  • Floyd’s autopsy report states the following: No life-threatening injuries identified
    1. No facial, oral, mucosal, or conjunctival petechiae
    2. No injuries of anterior muscles of neck or laryngeal structures
    3. No scalp soft tissue, skull or brain injuries
    4. No chest wall soft tissue injuries, rib fractures (other than a single rib fracture from CPR), vertebral column in juries, or visceral injuries
    5. Incision and subcutaneous dissection of posterior and lateral neck, shoulders, back, flanks, and buttocks negative for occult trauma.

You can access the previous article by clicking on this link. If you have not read it, I urge you to do so in order to better understand the real reasons for Floyd’s death as well as the discussion which follows below.

But my previous article did not address in any detail the reasons why the defendants acted as they did in subduing Floyd. That will be the purpose of this article, and, as you will see, every action of the defendants was in accordance with their official MPD training which set forth the procedures police officers are to use in dealing with a suspect who appears to be suffering excited delirium. These procedures – which include kneeling on the side of a suspect’s neck – are designed to enable the police to safely subdue an agitated, incoherent, non-compliant individual in the throes of excited delirium. In short, as will be discussed in detail, these defendants are now in jail because they followed their training and acted to minimize Floyd’s risk of death from sudden onset of cardiac arrhythmia.

So, what is excited delirium? In support of his well-crafted Motion to Dismiss,  the very able defense counsel for former Officer Lane filed with the court the above and below illustrations taken from the MPD’s  training materials. This one provides a definition of excited delirium:

In addition to the factors listed in the illustration, the medical literature provides other signs of excited delirium including, but not limited to, the following:

  1. Extreme fear response.
  2. Suspicion of impending death evidenced by comments such as “I’m dying,” “Please save me,” or Don’t kill me.”
  3. Incoherence or disorganized speech.
  4. Mania, paranoia, anxiety or avoidance behavior.
  5. Constant motion or hyperactivity.

As set forth below, Floyd exhibited all of the foregoing signs of excited delirium.

The transcript of the video footage from the camera worn by Officer Thomas Lane combined with the transcript of the video from Officer Alexander Kueng’s camera lay out on a second-by-second basis all that transpired in their presence from the time they arrived on the scene through Lane’s ambulance trip with Floyd to the hospital.

Upon their arrival, Lane and Kueng were told by a person identified as “Speaker 1” that a man in the “blue [Mercedes] Benz” parked in front of “Cup Foods” had passed “a fake [$20] bill.” As the officers approached the car, they observed concerning movements in the front seat by the person later identified as Floyd.

Lane drew his sidearm and ordered Floyd approximately seven times to show his hands. Once Floyd finally placed his hands on the steering wheel, Lane holstered his weapon. Nevertheless, Floyd continued to plead with Lane not to shoot him despite Lane’s repeated assurances that he was not going to shoot.

After he exited the car, Floyd was non-compliant and continued to resist and move about until he was handcuffed and seated on the sidewalk.

Lane and Kueng questioned Floyd and the other two occupants of the car concerning Floyd’s behavior and whether he might be under the influence of drugs.

As the officers tried to move Floyd to a police car, the following exchange occurred:

Lane to Floyd: What, are you on something right now?

Floyd: No, nothing.

Kueng: Because you are acting a little erratic. 

Lane: Let’s go. Let’s go.

Floyd: I’m scared, man.

Lane: Let’s go.

Kueng: You got foam around your mouth, too?

Floyd: Yes, I was just hooping earlier.

Lane: Let’s go.

Floyd: Man, all right let me calm down now. I’m feeling better now.

Lane: Keep walking.

Floyd: Can you do me one favor, man?

Lane: No, when we get to the car. Let’s get to the car, man, come on.

Kueng: Stop moving around.

Floyd: Oh man, God don’t leave me man. Please man, please man.

Lane to Kueng: Here. I want to watch that car [the blue Mercedes Benz] too, so just get him in [the police car].

Kueng to Floyd: Stand up, stop falling down! Stay on your feet and face the car door!

Floyd: I’m claustrophobic man, please man, please.

Later in the video transcripts are these exchanges:

Floyd: Please, man. Don’t leave me by myself man, I’m just claustrophobic, that’s it.

Lane: Well, you’re still going in the [police] car.

***

Kueng to Floyd: Why are you having trouble walking?

Floyd: Because officer [inaudible]

Lane: I’ll roll the windows down, okay?

***

Kueng to Floyd at the door to the squad car: Take a seat!

Floyd: Y’all I’m going to die in here! I’m going to die, man!

Kueng: You need to take a seat right now!

Floyd: And I just had COVID man, I don’t want to go back to that.

Lane: Okay, I’ll roll the windows down. Hey, listen!

Floyd: Dang, man.

Lane: Listen!

Floyd: I’m not that kind of guy.

Lane: I’ll roll the windows down if you put your legs in [the squad car] all right? I’ll put the air on.

***

Speaker 9 [civilian] to Floyd: Quit resisting bro.

Floyd: I don’t want to win. I’m claustrophobic, and I got anxiety, I don’t want to do nothing to them!

Lane: I’ll roll the window down.

Floyd: I’m scared as fuck man.

Speaker 9: That’s okay [inaudible]

Floyd: [inaudible] when I start breathing it’s going to go off on me, man.

Lane: Pull your legs in.

Floyd: Okay, okay, let me count to three and then I’m going in please.

Speaker 9: You can’t win!

As the officers continued their efforts to get Floyd into the police car, he continued to resist and repeatedly insisted that he was “claustrophobic.” Floyd hit his head on the car’s window and suffered a minor cut. Consequently, the police placed a “Code 2” call for Emergency Medical Services to tend to the wound.

And then, after Kueng told him once again to “take a seat” in the squad car, Floyd announced, “I can’t choke, I can’t breathe Mr. Officer! Please! Please!

And then, this was said:

Floyd: I want to lay on the ground. I want to lay on the ground. I want to lay on the ground!

Lane: You’re getting in the squad [car].

Floyd: I want to lay on the ground! I’m going down, I’m going down, I’m going down.

Kueng: Take a squat (sic).

Floyd: I’m going down.

Speaker 9: Bro, you about to have a heart attack and shit man, get in the car!

Floyd: know I can’t breathe. I can’t breathe. [crosstalk]

Lane: Get him on the ground.

Floyd: Let go of me man, I can’t breathe. I can’t breathe.

Lane: Take a seat.

Floyd: Please man listen to me.

Officer Chauvin: Is he going to jail?

Floyd: Please listen to me.

Kueng: He’s under arrest right now for forgery. [inaudible] what’s going on.

Floyd: Forgery for what? For what?

Lane: Let’s take him out [of the squad car] and just MRT [Maximal Restraint Technique by which a suspect’s feet are “hobbled” to his waist].

Floyd: I can’t fucking breathe man. I can’t fucking breathe.

Kueng: Here. Come on out [of the squad car]!

Floyd: [inaudible] Thank you. Thank you.

Officer Thao: Just lay him on the ground.

All of this happened before he was on the ground and immobilized by the police. Nevertheless, as he continued to resist and behave irrationally, his extremely agitated condition deteriorated and his complaints of being unable to breathe increased in frequency even though no one was applying force of any kind to his neck or compressing his back or chest.

After Floyd was on the ground, he continued to move about and say that he couldn’t breathe. Lane was near Floyd’s feet, Kueng at the middle of Floyd’s body, and Chauvin at his back and head with his knee on Floyd’s neck.

Thao: Is he high on something?

Kueng: I’m assuming so, we found a pipe.

Lane: He wouldn’t get out of the car. He wasn’t following instructions. [crosstalk] …

Floyd: Please, I can’t breathe. Please man. Please man!

Thao: Do you have EMS [Emergency Medical Services] coming code 3?

Lane: Ah code 2, we can probably step it up then. You got it? [crosstalk]

Floyd: Please, man!

Thao: Relax!

Floyd: I can’t breathe.

Kueng: You’re fine, you’re talking fine.

Lane: Your talken (sic), Deep breath.

Floyd: I can’t breathe. I can’t breathe. Ah! I’ll probably just die this way.

Thao: Relax.

Floyd: I can’t breathe my face.

Lane: He’s got to be on something.

Thao: What are you on?

Floyd: I can’t breathe. Please, [inaudible] I can’t breathe. Shit.

Speaker 9: Well get up and get in the car, man. Get up and get in the car.

Floyd: I will. I can’t move.

Speaker 9: Let him get in the car.

Lane: We found a weed pipe on him, there might be something else, there might be like PCP or something. Is that shaking of the eyes right is PCP?

Floyd: My knees, my neck.

Lane: Where their eyes like shake back and forth really fast?

Floyd: I’m through, I’m through. I’m claustrophobic. My stomach hurts. My neck hurts. Everything hurts. I need some water or something, please. Please? I can’t breathe officer.

Chauvin: Then stop talking, stop yelling.

Floyd: You’re going to kill me, man.

Chauvin: Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk.

Floyd: Come on, man. Oh, oh. [crosstalk] I cannot breathe. I cannot breathe. Ah! They’ll kill me. They’ll kill me. I can’t breathe. I can’t breathe. Oh!

Speaker 8: We tried that for 10 minutes.

Floyd: Ah! Ah! Please. Please. Please.

Lane: Should we roll him on his side?

Chauvin: No, he’s staying put where we got him.

Lane: Okay. I just worry about the excited delirium or whatever.

Chauvin: That’s why we got the ambulance coming.

As Floyd continued to shout that he couldn’t breathe and called for his mother, a radio transmission was recorded saying that the ambulance was approximately four blocks away. When it arrived, Lane got in the ambulance and helped to give Floyd CPR on the way to the hospital.

Throughout this, Floyd was exhibiting unmistakable signs of excited delirium, and, as you are about to learn, the police officers took action consistent with their training to restrain him as safely as possible under the circumstances and keep him from hurting himself while they waited for the ambulance to arrive.

In addition to the signs and symptoms of excited delirium, there are risk factors for the condition which are listed in this MPD training illustration…”

Doug Santo