Rap legend and fashion designer Kanye West has claimed while speaking on the Drink Champs podcast that George Floyd did not die of asphyxiation.
According to West, Floyd died because of fentanyl and the police officer's knee “wasn’t even on his neck".
Earlier it was reported that Floyd suffered from chronic pain and struggled with addiction to opiate-based painkillers.
On 25 May 2020, Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on Floyd's neck for more than nine minutes as the latter was handcuffed and lying on his stomach. During the arrest, another officer, Alexander Kueng, knelt on Floyd's back and a third, Tou Thao, warned bystanders not to get too close. The incident was captured on video and went viral, sparking protests - and riots - throughout the United States and abroad.
Chauvin was convicted of second-degree murder last year and sentenced to 22-and-a-half years on the state charge. Kueng, Thao and another officer, Thomas Lane, were convicted in the US federal court in February of violating Floyd's civil rights.
Chauvin was convicted of second-degree murder last year and sentenced to 22-and-a-half years on the state charge. Kueng, Thao and another officer, Thomas Lane, were convicted in the US federal court in February of violating Floyd's civil rights.
Kueng received a three-year prison sentence, Thao a three-and-a-half year prison sentence, and Lane was sentenced to two-and-a-half years.