MINNEAPOLIS — The emergency room doctor who pronounced George Floyd dead after trying to resuscitate him testified Monday that he theorized at the time that Floyd’s heart most likely stopped because he didn’t get enough oxygen.

Dr. Bradford Langenfeld, who was a senior resident on duty that night at Hennepin County Medical Center, took the stand at the beginning of Week Two at former Minneapolis Officer Derek Chauvin’s murder trial, as prosecutors sought to establish that it was Chauvin’s knee on the Black man’s neck that killed him.

Langenfeld said Floyd’s heart had stopped by the time he arrived at the hospital. The doctor said that he was not told of any efforts at the scene by bystanders or police to resuscitate Floyd but that paramedics told him they had tried for about 30 minutes.

Under questioning by prosecutor Jerry Blackwell, Langenfeld said that based on the information he had, it was “more likely than the other possibilities” that Floyd’s cardiac arrest — the stopping of his heart — was caused by asphyxia, or insufficient oxygen.

Chauvin, 45, is charged with murder and manslaughter in Floyd’s death May 25. The white officer is accused of pinning his knee on the 46-year-old man’s neck for 9 minutes, 29 seconds, as Floyd lay face-down in handcuffs outside a corner market, where had been accused of trying to pass a counterfeit $20 bill for a pack of cigarettes.

The defense argues that Chauvin did what he was trained to do and that Floyd’s use of illegal drugs and his underlying health conditions caused his death.

Chauvin attorney Eric Nelson questioned Langenfeld about whether some drugs can cause hypoxia, or insufficient oxygen. The doctor acknowledged that fentanyl and methamphetamine, both of which were found in Floyd’s body, can do so.

The county medical examiner’s office ultimately classified Floyd’s death a homicide — that is, a death at the hands of someone else.

The full report said Floyd died of “cardiopulmonary arrest, complicating law enforcement subdual, restraint, and neck compression.” A summary report listed fentanyl intoxication and recent methamphetamine use under “other significant conditions” but not under “cause of death.”

Under cross-examination from Nelson, Langenfeld said Floyd’s carbon dioxide levels were more than twice has high as levels in healthy person, and he agreed that that could be attributed to a respiratory problem. But on questioning from the prosecutor, the doctor said the high levels were also consistent with cardiac arrest.

Langenfeld also testified that neither he nor paramedics administered a drug that would reverse the effects of an opioid overdose. The doctor said giving Narcan once a patient is in cardiac arrest would provide no benefit.

Floyd’s treatment by police was captured on widely seen bystander video that sparked protests that rocked Minneapolis and quickly spread to other U.S. cities and beyond and descended into violence in some cases.

Langenfeld said that “any amount of time” a patient spends in cardiac arrest without immediate CPR decreases the chance of a good outcome. He said there is an approximately 10% to 15% decrease in survival for every minute that CPR is not administered.

Prosecutors in the second week of the trial are also expected to zero in on Chauvin’s training in the use of force.

Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo took the stand Monday, and began testifying about police officer training. Arradondo, the city’s first Black chief, fired Chauvin and three other officers the day after Floyd’s death, and in June called it “murder.”

“Mr. George Floyd’s tragic death was not due to a lack of training — the training was there,” Arradondo said then. “Chauvin knew what he was doing.”

The city moved soon after Floyd’s death to ban police chokeholds and neck restraints. Arradondo and Mayor Jacob Frey also made several policy changes, including expanding requirements for reporting use-of-force incidents and documenting attempts to de-escalate situations.

Prosecutors have already called supervisory officers to build the case that Chauvin improperly restrained Floyd. A duty sergeant and a lieutenant who leads the homicide division both questioned Chauvin’s actions in pinning Floyd to the ground.

“Totally unnecessary,” Lt. Richard Zimmerman, the longest-tenured officer on the force, testified Friday. He said once Floyd was handcuffed, he saw “no reason for why the officers felt they were in danger, if that’s what they felt, and that’s what they would have to feel to be able to use that kind of force.”

Read More

Read More

Last weekend marked the 53d anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King’s assassination. Over half a century. Has America come any closer to his dream?

He would be pleased at some of our progress. Segregation is no longer the law of the land. The Voting Rights Act helped open doors. Dr. King would be pleased that a majority of Americans joined to elect and re-elect an African American president. Georgians just elected a black minister from Dr. King’s own historic church to the U.S. Senate. There are now 60 African American members of Congress, 54 Latino members, 20 Asian American or Pacific Islander Americans and 5 native Americans.

Yet the reconstruction has brought reaction. By a 5-4 decision, right-wing judges on the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act, even after overwhelming majorities of both parties voted to reauthorize it. Now across the country, Republicans, fearful of the growing involvement of minorities and the young, are seeking to impose restrictions that make voting more difficult.

Dr. King would be marching with those who seek to make it easier to register and to vote. He’d be urging the Senate to pass S1, the For the People election reform bill that would go far to limit voter suppression, gerrymandering and counter the role of secret big money in politics. He surely would be delighted that African American business leaders of major corporations and banks have joined in urging the corporate community to speak out against efforts to suppress the vote.

George Floyd’s murder would appall but not surprise Dr. King. The shameful mass incarceration of African Americans and the structural racial inequities of our criminal justice system demand reform. Again, Dr. King would be marching with the Black Lives Matter movement and would be encouraged by the multiracial outpouring of largely peaceful, nonviolent protests demanding reform.

Economic justice was the third movement of Dr. King’s civil rights symphony — and the most incomplete. The pandemic has once more stripped the veil off of America’s structural racial inequalities. African Americans and Latinos were the most likely to be infected, the most likely to lack health care, the most likely to be frontline workers, the least likely to be able to work from home.

When the economy shut down, African Americans and Latinos suffered the largest loss of jobs, and the greatest collapse of incomes. We are also vulnerable to the most evictions and foreclosures. The schools our children attend are the least likely to have adequate ventilation or space for social distancing.

The level of economic violence suffered daily by poor and low-income families is immoral and unnecessary. Millions of Americans still lack the basic right to adequate health care. Dr. King’s legacy has helped to inspire a new Poor People’s Campaign, giving voice to the 140 million low income and impoverished Americans who struggle to survive.

Dr. King protested as the War on Poverty was defeated in the jungles of Vietnam. He understood that a bloated military budget, constant interventions across the world, the arms race that threatened all humanity sapped the resources, energy and attention needed to make America better.

Today, the military budget is even higher — in comparable dollars — than it was at the height of the Cold War. The U.S. maintains nearly 800 military bases in more than 70 countries. We fight endless wars on the other side of the world. And worse, we seem headed into a new Cold War, this time with both Russia and China, and have launched a trillion-dollar program to build a new generation of nuclear weapons that we don’t need and cannot use.

Our priorities remain distorted. There were no Republican votes for Biden’s Rescue Plan to deal with the pandemic and the economic collapse. Many predict that there will be no Republican votes for Biden’s American Jobs Plan to rebuild and modernize our infrastructure and begin to deal with the existential threat of catastrophic climate change. Yet there will be bipartisan support for a military budget far beyond our security needs.

Over half a century. We’ve come a long way, yet we still have so far to go. Hope is provided by a new generation — more diverse, more engaged, better educated, and increasingly on the march.

They are bringing new energy and new numbers to the struggle for justice and peace. About that, Dr. King surely would be pleased.

Send letters to [email protected].

Read More

CTA Red Line trains were rerouted to the elevated tracks Monday afternoon after a man was found dead at the Chicago station.

Chicago fire officials said the man was found dead in a “vent shaft” at the Chicago station, 800 N. State St.

The CTA first announced the disruption about 11:50 a.m., and rerouted trains about 20 minutes later. They initially said there was an unauthorized person on the tracks.

Red Line trains have been rerouted to the elevated tracks between the Fullerton and Cermak-Chinatown stations, stopping at:

• Armitage;
• Sedgwick;
• Chicago;
• Merchandise Mart;
• Clark/Lake;
• State/Lake;
• Washington/Wabash;
• Adams/Wabash; and
• Roosevelt.

The Red Line is running its normal route between Fullerton and Howard and between Cermak-Chinatown and 95th/Dan Ryan, the CTA said.

The Cook County medical examiner’s office hasn’t released details on the death.

Read More

Smoked meats & southern eats: Neither of these are particularly prominent in the Second City, but these are the the two pillars by which Porkchop BBQ in West Town stands upon. Porkchop’s goal was to create an “urban interpretation of a backwoods experience” And, by all means, they have accomplished this.

Porkchop was kind enough to invite us out to their media tasting day this past week. The menu, the ambiance, and the hospitality were on full display. Located conveniently in West Town at 1132 Grand Avenue, Porkchop converted a vacant corner unit into a snug, homey barbecue experience. From the moment you walk in, the aroma of the smoked meats hits, and you are transplanted out of the urban mindset and into the heaven of southern bliss. A long wooden table with benches gives you the feeling of an intimate, family dinner in the summertime south. And once you are seated, you are treated exactly as such: family. Our waitress Zoe, was incredibly friendly and helpful in getting us familiar with Porkchop and its offerings.

As for the menu, absolutely nothing missed. The cocktail drink, or ‘Pour Decisions,’ menu featured some unique drinks. The Suffering Bastard, and some familiar favorites, like a Rock & Rye Old Fashioned were crowd-pleasers. Starting courses featured fried catfish bites with tartar sauce and crispy bang bang shrimp with a spicy aioli (an absolute must for barbecue). The batter of both was done exceptionally well; not too heavy, not too light, perfectly crispy, and it stuck to the pieces well. The catfish was tender and flakey, and paired well with the flavorful Bang Bang Shrimp. 

The entrees we sampled were a Chicken & Waffle spread and a you-pick-em, two-meat platter, each served with two southern sides. The Chicken & Waffle was the ideal balance between sweet and savory, with chicken that was as tender and juicy as it was appealing on the platter. However, the two-meat platter is what really stole the showThe meats we elected to sample are two that must be executed to earn proverbial BBQ stripes: pulled pork and brisket burnt ends. The pork paired extremely well with a vinegary sauce, and fell apart, as it should. The taste had a mild sweetness and was incredibly savory; well executed. The burnt ends were a perfect compliment to the pork. The first slice will display a prominent smoke ring, which begs the question, ‘is this meat over curated or perfectly smoked?’ The first bite answers: perfectly smoked. Pairing the burnt ends with the spicy aioli sauce from the Bang Bang Shrimp will stimulate the taste buds in ways you wouldn’t expect from BBQ in Chicago. Sides of baked beans, cornbread, green beans and mac-n-cheese were perfectly fulfilling to match the flavors of the tender, smoked meats.

If you are looking to stray away from the traditional, fine dining that dominates Chicago’s Friday night dinner scene, West Town’s Porkchop says look no further. Porkchop not only will exceed your cuisine expectations, but their speakeasy will entertain you with music, magic, and even burlesque shows. Whatever you are looking for, Porkchop has it all. The opportunity to enjoy their food at their media unveil will not be our only trip! See you soon, Porkchop! 

You can follow Porkchop BBQ on Instagram at @porkchopbbq or visit their website for more information and how you can enjoy the best BBQ in the city today!

Featured Image Credit: Porkchop BBQ on Instagram

 

The post Porkchop BBQ: The Authentic Taste of the South Hits West Town appeared first on UrbanMatter.

Read More

Read More

Read More

Read More

Firefighters battled a residential fire Monday morning in Cary in the northwest suburbs.

Crews were called to a fire about 6:40 a.m. in the 500 block of Holly Lynn Drive, according to an employee of the Cary Fire Department.

The fire was under control and investigators were probing the cause of the fire, department spokesman Lt. Michael Douglass said in an email. Additional details weren’t immediately available

Media reports showed at least one home completely engulfed in flames.

Read More

LONDON — All adults and children in England will be able to have routine coronavirus tests twice a week as a way to stamp out new outbreaks, the British government said Monday as it prepared to announce the next steps in lifting the nation’s months-long lockdown.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said regularly testing people who don’t have COVID-19 symptoms would help “stop outbreaks in their tracks, so we can get back to seeing the people we love and doing the things we enjoy.”

The government said free lateral flow tests will be available free starting Friday by mail, from pharmacies and in workplaces. Lateral flow tests give results in minutes but are less accurate than the PCR swab tests used to officially confirm cases of COVID-19.

The government insists they are reliable. Health Minister Edward Argar said the tests produced a false positive rate — showing someone has the virus when they don’t — in less than 1 in every 1,000 tests.

“So that is still a highly accurate test which can play a really important part in reopening our country and our businesses, because it is so simple to take,” Argar told Sky News.

Johnson is scheduled later Monday to announce the next steps on the country’s road map out of its three-month lockdown. He is expected to confirm at a news conference that hairdressers, non-essential shops and pub and restaurant patios will reopen as planned in England on April 12. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are following slightly different timescales.

Britain has recorded almost 127,000 coronavirus deaths, the highest toll in Europe. But infections and deaths both have fallen sharply during the lockdown and since the start of a vaccination campaign that so far has given a first dose to more than 31 million people, or six in 10 adults.

Johnson is unlikely to tell Britons when or where they will be able to go abroad on vacation, something that is currently banned by law. The government has said it will not lift the travel ban before May 17. British officials are considering a traffic-light system ranking countries as green, yellow or red based on their level of infections. People returning from green countries would not have to self-isolate.

The government also is considering a system of certificates, or “vaccine passports,” that would allow people seeking to travel or attend events to show they either have received a coronavirus vaccine, recently tested negative for the virus, or recently recently had COVID-19 and therefore have some immunity.

The issue of vaccine passports has been hotly debated around the world, raising questions about how much governments, employers, venues and other places have a right to know about a person’s virus status. The idea is opposed by a wide swath of British lawmakers, from left-of-center opposition politicians to members of Johnson’s Conservative Party.

Conservative legislator Graham Brady said vaccine passports would be “intrusive, costly and unnecessary.” The leader of the opposition Labour Party, Keir Starmer, called the idea “un-British.”

The government plans a series of trial mass events in April and May, including soccer matches, comedy shows and marathon runs, to see whether large crowds can return to sports and entertainment venues. Those attending will be tested for the virus both before and after, but the government has said the events won’t initially involve vaccine passports.

Read More