George Floyd is a martyr.  At least he is to vast numbers of inner-city youth — and many in the media and intelligentsia.  That is unfortunate for several reasons.

After his death in Minneapolis, riots shook the nation, causing billions of dollars in damages and countless injuries and even deaths.  Cities burned.  Stores — many owned and run by minorities — were looted and destroyed. Craven progressive politicians called for defunding the police, cashless bail, and a reduction in penalties for shoplifting, among other pro-criminal measures.  Floyd, a lifelong violent criminal who spent five stints in prison, became a saint even as law enforcement was demonized.  More than 2,000 officers were injured during the seemingly never-ending riots.  The mark left on many major cities, both physical and emotional, was enormous...and possibly permanent.  The mark left on America is possibly even worse.

It is true that George Floyd died while in police custody, prompting the Marxists in BLM and the laughably named “Antifa” to hit the streets and foment chaos and destruction.  But Floyd wasn’t murdered.  Tucker Carlson recently revealed that former Hennepin County prosecutor Amy Sweasy states that the medical examiner who autopsied George Floyd told her the next day that there “were no medical indications of asphyxia or strangulation.”

No indications of asphyxia or strangulation.

Moreover, according to the autopsy report, Floyd had no life-threatening injuries, and his head and neck areas were normal.  What’s more, he had a remarkable mix of toxic drugs in his system at the time of death, including fentanyl, norfentanyl, methamphetamine, marijuana, and morphine.  This in addition to a “severe, multifocal case of arteriosclerotic heart disease” and hypertensive heart disease.  This was no “homicide.”  The Hennepin County press release, however, was loath to mention any of this.

No indications of asphyxia or strangulation.  No scars.

There was tremendous pressure put on prosecutors to blame police officer Derek Chauvin for Floyd’s demise, as he was the one who subdued Floyd after Floyd tried to pass a counterfeit bill while attempting to purchase cigarettes.  Senior assistant county attorney Patrick Lofton admitted this, saying, “There was extreme premium pressure, yes.  The city was burning down.”

The rioters had their collective knee on the nation’s throat.

The case was anything but cut and dry, and several prosecutors subsequently excused themselves from it because they didn’t believe that Chauvin and three other officers “murdered” Floyd.

No indications of asphyxia or strangulation?  No scars?

Tragically, we can’t say the same for the country.

Image: Lorie Shaull via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0.