Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer convicted of murdering George Floyd, has been seriously injured in a stabbing, the media in the United States has reported. Chauvin was stabbed by another inmate at the Federal Correctional Institution in Tucson, Arizona, on Friday, the media reported, citing unnamed sources.
Local reports cited sources familiar with the situation as saying Chauvin was in a “stable” condition and was expected to survive. The Federal Correctional Institution in Tucson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Floyd’s death in 2020 sparked enormous protests against police brutality and racism, with “I can’t breathe” becoming a rallying call for change in the US and numerous other countries.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons confirmed that an inmate at the Tucson prison was stabbed without identifying the inmate by name and that no other inmates or prison staff were injured. Chauvin, who was filmed kneeling on the black man’s neck for more than nine minutes, was sentenced to 22 and a half years in prison after being found guilty of murder and manslaughter charges in April 2021.
In June 2022, Chauvin was sentenced to 21 years in prison for violating Floyd’s civil rights in a separate case. On Monday, the US Supreme Court declined to hear Chauvin’s appeal of his conviction for second-degree murder.
Chauvin’s lawyers had argued he was denied his right to a fair trial because of publicity before the trial and concerns that public safety could be threatened if he was acquitted. Three other former officers who were at the scene of Floyd’s death received prison sentences of between three years and 57 months.
In June, the outcome of a US Justice Department probe into the Minneapolis police found that officers often used violent and racist practices, “including unjustified deadly force.” Chauvin’s stabbing is the second high-profile attack on a federal prisoner in the last five months. In July, disgraced sports doctor Larry Nassar was stabbed by a fellow inmate at a federal penitentiary in Florida.
Chauvin’s lawyer, Eric Nelson, had advocated for keeping him out of the general population and away from other inmates, anticipating he’d be a target. In Minnesota, Chauvin was mainly kept in solitary confinement “largely for his protection. Chauvin’s stabbing comes as the federal Bureau of Prisons has faced increased scrutiny in recent years following wealthy financier Jeffrey Epstein’s jail suicide in 2019.
