Paul Craig Roberts: George Floyd died from a drug overdose

The entire world has seen this picture [of police officer Chauvin with his knee on George Floyd's neck] and had it interpreted for them by a lazy, incompetent, and dishonest American media without any regard to evidence or the medical examiner’s report. The official story is that Floyd died from suffocation resulting from the pressure of Chauvin’s knee on Floyd’s neck.

Much has been made of the police removing Floyd from the squad car where they had him safely ensconced and placing him on his stomach in the street so they could kill him.

We all saw it with our own eyes, so we know it is true. But it isn't.

[...]

As the medical examiner’s report shows, Floyd’s blood indicates a fatal dose of fentanyl, a killer opioid. The police are not medics or toxicologists, but they sensed that Floyd had a problem far beyond passing fake $20 bills and questioned him. When they got Floyd in the police car to take him for booking, he said “I can’t breathe” and “I want to lay on the ground.”

Chauvin, a more experienced officer, realized Floyd was in trouble. The police acceded to Floyd’s request, removed him from the car, and put him on the ground as requested. The police put him on his stomach because one effect of a fentanyl overdose is nausea and the police did not want Floyd to choke to death on his own vomit.

Floyd was restrained so that he did not flail about using what little oxygen he was getting prior to the arrival on the scene of medics. The police were trying to prolong his life until the medics arrived.

~ Paul Craig Roberts, "A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words," LewRockwell.com, July 14, 2020