Cardiologist, U of I alumnus testifies at George Floyd trial

MINNEAPOLIS (WAND) - A cardiologist who graduated from the University of Illinois testified Monday in the trial of Derek Chauvin, the officer accused of killing George Floyd. 

Dr. Jonathan Rich took the stand and was cross-examined by defense attorney Eric Nelson, According to NBC affiliate KARE, Rich expressed confidence that Floyd's death was not caused by a drug overdose, saying his opinion was "with a high degree of medical certainty that George Floyd did not die from a primary cardiac event." 

Rich said a cardiopulmonary arrest caused by low oxygen levels was the reason for Floyd's death. He added "those low oxygen levels were induced by the prone restaurant and positional asphyxiation he was subjected to." 

A use-of-force expert testified earlier in April that Chauvin had his knee on Floyd's neck the entire 9 1/2 minutes in which Floyd was on his stomach with his hands cuffed behind his back. 

Chauvin had entered a plea of not guilty to charges of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.

According to Rich's testimony, Floyd's death was "absolutely preventable" and he could have lived if not for the restraint Chauvin allegedly put him through. 

Police could have decided not to use prone restraint on Floyd, Rich said, and he could have been moved to a recovery position when passing out. CPR could have been used an as "immediate opportunity" to save Floyd's life when officers didn't find a pulse on him, the testimony added.

Rich, a cardiologist at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago and Northwestern University associate professor, was a graduate of the University of Illinois with University Honors/summa cum laude distinction, a biography page from the Cardiometabolic Health Congress said. He also went to medical school at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York and was elected to the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society. 

Rich also completed an internal medicine residency at Harvard Brigham and Women's Hospital. He received the Harvard Medical School Resident Teaching Award.