What did the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s full autopsy report state about George Floyd’s injuries and cause of death?

1. The formal cause and manner: what the report says in plain terms

The Hennepin County autopsy report, signed by Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Andrew Baker, records the manner of death as homicide and the medical cause as "cardiopulmonary arrest complicating law enforcement subdual, restraint, and neck compression," language that places the immediate physiological event (cardiopulmonary arrest) in direct relationship to the physical restraint and neck compression applied during the police encounter ^{[1] [3]}.

2. Injuries observed and the "no life‑threatening injuries" note

The written autopsy documents external and internal examinations that did not identify discrete life‑threatening traumatic injuries such as massive internal hemorrhage, but it lists the context of neck compression, restraint, and subdual as central to the death determination; media summaries highlighted the report’s phrase that "no life‑threatening injuries [were] identified," a line that has been cited to clarify that classic fatal injuries were not seen on autopsy even as restraint-related mechanisms were judged causal ^{[2] [1]}.

3. Toxicology and pulmonary findings that complicate the picture

Toxicology testing reported fentanyl and methamphetamine in Floyd’s system, with Hennepin staff and related court documents noting fentanyl levels that some experts described as "pretty high" and that pulmonary edema was present, with lungs estimated at two to three times normal weight—findings the report records and that medical witnesses have discussed as physiologically significant but not definitive as sole causes of death ^{[4] [3]}.

4. Underlying heart and blood‑related conditions noted by the examiner

The autopsy documents coronary atherosclerosis and hypertensive heart disease as chronic medical conditions present in Floyd, and it records laboratory findings consistent with sickle cell trait; the report frames these as contributing factors to his overall medical state but distinguishes chronic disease from the immediate mechanism identified as the fatal sequence involving restraint and neck compression ^{[1] [5]}.

5. How the county report compares to the family‑commissioned private autopsy

The family’s independent autopsy—publicized alongside the county’s—used different language, calling the cause "asphyxia from sustained forceful pressure" and emphasizing neck and back compression as producing lack of blood flow and impaired respiration; Hennepin County’s report used the cardiopulmonary arrest phrasing with homicide manner while explicitly listing restraint and neck compression as complicating factors, a divergence that fed public debate though both reports attributed central causal weight to force applied during restraint ^{[6] [7]}.

6. Expert testimony, release process, and controversy over wording

Dr. Andrew Baker, who conducted the autopsy and classified the death as homicide, later testified in criminal proceedings about his findings and the rationale for the homicide determination, and county officials publicly released the full 20‑page report with the family's consent; the report and Baker’s testimony were focal points in trial and media disputes over whether toxicology, cardiac disease, or police restraint was the primary cause—a debate reflected in published excerpts, press releases, and courtroom records ^{[8] [9] [10]}.

Conclusion

The Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s full autopsy explicitly ties George Floyd’s death to cardiopulmonary arrest in the context of law enforcement subdual, restraint, and neck compression and classifies the death as a homicide, while also documenting contributing chronic cardiac disease, sickle cell trait, and the presence of fentanyl and methamphetamine—elements the report records as part of the medical picture but does not relegate the proximate cause away from the restraint‑related mechanism that it identifies ^{[1] [3] [4]}.