One of the odder witnesses for convicted murderer Derek Chauvin was former Maryland Chief Medical Examiner David Fowler, whose tortured testimony attempted to exonerate Chauvin by claiming the cause of death was "undetermined." Despite the testimony of multiple medical and scientific experts to the contrary, Fowler insisted that the compression of George Floyd's neck under Chauvin's knee for over 9 minutes didn't cause his death:
"Fowler testified that the primary cause of Floyd’s death was cardiac arrhythmia during police restraint due to underlying heart disease. He also said that Floyd’s drug use and exposure to carbon monoxide from the police car contributed to his death."
Because Fowler's testimony was so out of synch with credible medical opinions offered by the prosecution, the Maryland State Attorney General is launching an investigation of all autopsies of the deaths of individuals while in police custody that were supervised by Fowler:
"The attorney general’s push for a review was expedited this week after he became aware of an open letter penned by D.C.’s former chief medical examiner Roger Mitchell, which said Fowler’s testimony was “baseless' and 'revealed obvious bias.'
The letter called for state and federal investigations into Fowler’s medical license along with a review of the state’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner during his 17-year tenure."
Whether or not the investigation will reveal a bias that influenced his medical opinions is uncertain, but at least in the Chauvin trial, the jury discounted Fowler's strained testimony and promptly convicted Chauvin on all counts.
(photo: Fowler on the stand/ Forum News Service)
