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Derek Chauvin: Former police officer convicted of murdering George Floyd stabbed in prison

5 months ago
Derek Chauvin: Former police officer convicted of murdering George Floyd stabbed in prison

A former Minneapolis police officer convicted of murdering George Floyd has been stabbed in prison, according to an official.

Derek Chauvin was attacked by another inmate while in prison in Arizona, according to a law enforcement official familiar with the incident.

The US Bureau of Prisons confirmed an inmate had been assaulted at the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) in Tucson at around 12.30pm local time on Friday.

In a statement, the agency said prison staff performed “life-saving measures”, before the inmate, who it did not name, was taken to a hospital for further treatment and evaluation.

The FBI said it was aware of an assault at the prison – though it also did not name anyone involved.

Chauvin, 47, was sent to FCI Tucson from a maximum-security Minnesota state prison in August 2022 to serve a 22-year sentence for the second-degree murder of Mr Floyd.

He was also sentenced to a concurrent 21-year sentence for violating Mr Floyd’s civil rights.

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Derek Chauvin was sentenced to 22 years in prison for the second-degree murder of George Floyd

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Mr Floyd, 46, died in May 2020 after Chauvin pressed a knee on his neck for more than nine minutes on the street outside a convenience store in Minneapolis, where he was suspected of trying to pass counterfeit money.

The murder, which was recorded on a mobile phone by a passer-by, who filmed Mr Floyd saying “I can’t breathe” multiple times, sparked protests against racism and police brutality across the world.

Stabbing of one of America’s most high profile prisoners will prompt difficult questions for prison authorities

Derek Chauvin is among the most high profile prisoners in the United States. Until last year, he was being held at a maximum security prison in Minnesota, the state in which he murdered George Floyd.

He was being kept mostly in solitary confinement, but in August 2022 he was moved to a medium security prison in Arizona, which has a history of security lapses.

There will be questions for the Federal Bureau of Prisons, which oversees the network of jails in the US, about how they protect high profile prisoners.

The attack on Derek Chauvin follows the stabbing of Larry Nassar, the former USA team gymnastics doctor, convicted of sexually abusing more than two hundred women and girls.

It also follows the 2019 prison suicide of the financier Jeffrey Epstein.

There is also a conundrum about where Chauvin should serve the remainder of his two sentences for murder and civil rights violations, assuming he recovers and is released from hospital.

Three other former officers received lesser state and federal sentences for their roles in Mr Floyd’s death.

Last week, the US Supreme Court rejected Chauvin’s appeal against his state murder conviction.

Separately, he is attempting to overturn his guilty plea in the federal civil rights case, claiming new evidence shows he did not cause Mr Floyd’s death.

Minnesota attorney general Keith Ellison said: “I am sad to hear that Derek Chauvin was the target of violence.

“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.”