Derek Chauvin, the ex-police officer currently serving a 22-year prison sentence for the murder of George Floyd, was stabbed and seriously injured on Friday. The attack was first reported by the Associated Press, which cited “a person familiar with the matter.” The New York Times later published its confirmation of the report, citing two people with knowledge of the incident.
Though it did not name Chauvin explicitly, the Federal Bureau of Prisons confirmed Friday that an inmate at a medium-security Tucson federal prison where Chauvin is incarcerated was stabbed at 12:30 p.m. on Friday. Medical technicians “initiated lifesaving measures” before moving the stabbing victim to a local hospital “for further treatment of and evaluation.” No other employees were injured, and sources familiar with the incident told ABC News that Chauvin is expected to survive.
“I am sad to hear that Derek Chauvin was the target of violence,” Keith Ellison, the Minnesota attorney general who prosecuted Chauvin in 2021, said in a statement. “He was duly convicted of his crimes and, like any incarcerated individual, he should be able to serve his sentence without fear of retaliation or violence.”
Chauvin, who was convicted on April 20, 2021 of murdering Floyd, has been held in Tucson since August 2022. He was previously incarcerated in a maximum-security state prison in Minnesota, where he was reportedly held in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day due to fears for his safety.
This is not the first time the Federal Correctional Institution in Tucson has dealt with significant security lapses and experienced widespread staffing shortages. Last year, an inmate in the minimum-security part of the facility was able to secure a firearm and attempted to shoot a visitor.
Chauvin has been attempting to appeal his murder conviction for years, arguing that his state jury trial was biased due to pretrial publicity and fears of violence in the case of a not-guilty verdict. The Supreme Court declined to hear the ex-officer’s appeal last week. Chauvin is also separately appealing his federal conviction on charges of violating Floyd’s civil rights, arguing that new evidence proves that he did not cause Floyd’s death.
The former Minneapolis police officer’s convictions stem from his actions on May 25, 2020, when he pressed his knee on Floyd’s neck for nine-and-a-half minutes. Floyd’s death ignited what became one of the largest protest movements in U.S. history.
Jack McCordick
Source link
