Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer convicted of murdering George Floyd in a 2020 arrest that sparked widespread protests, was stabbed at a federal prison in Tucson, Arizona, on Friday, according to sources familiar with the situation.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons confirmed that an inmate at the Tucson prison was stabbed at 12:30 p.m., but the statement did not mention Derek Chauvin by name. The agency assured that no other inmates or prison staff were harmed, and the situation was swiftly contained.
Emergency medical technicians administered lifesaving measures before transferring the injured inmate to a local hospital for further treatment and evaluation. While the current condition of the inmate remains undisclosed, insiders report that Chauvin survived the attack.
Chauvin, 47, was serving a sentence of just over two decades in federal prison after being found guilty of state murder charges and a federal charge of violating George Floyd’s constitutional rights. Chauvin’s legal team did not provide any comments on the incident.
The former officer, who is white, had knelt on Floyd, a Black man, for nine and a half minutes in May 2020, a moment captured on video that went viral, triggering protests against police violence and racism. Chauvin’s televised trial in April 2021 resulted in his conviction for second-degree murder. Three other officers involved were also convicted of violating Floyd’s rights.
Chauvin had attempted to appeal his conviction, but the Supreme Court rejected his efforts this week.
As part of his plea deal, Chauvin was allowed to serve his sentence in a federal prison, considered safer than a state prison. Before that, he had spent 23 hours a day in solitary confinement in Minnesota due to safety concerns. The attack on Chauvin prompted condemnation from Keith Ellison, the attorney general of Minnesota, who oversaw his prosecution.
The stabbing of high-profile federal prisoners, like Larry Nassar earlier this year and James (Whitey) Bulger in 2018, has raised concerns. The Bureau of Prisons is dealing with a shortage of corrections officers, with about 21% of funded positions unfilled as of September 2022.
On May 25, 2020, Chauvin and three other Minneapolis Police Department officers confronted George Floyd, leading to his death. Chauvin’s trial revealed the events that unfolded, culminating in his conviction and a 22.5-year prison sentence in the state case. Subsequently, in a federal case, Chauvin pleaded guilty and received a 21-year sentence for violating Floyd’s constitutional rights by using excess force under the color of law.
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