The former Minneapolis police officer was convicted of murder in 2022 and sentenced to 22.5 years in prison.
Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who was convicted of causing the death of George Floyd in May 2020, was seriously injured in a stabbing on Friday in a federal prison, the Associated Press reported. The death of George Floyd sparked a large protest movement against racial discrimination and police violence.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons, which manages federal prisons in the United States, said a prisoner was attacked at the federal prison in Tucson, Arizona, but did not confirm it was Derek Chauvin.
American federal prison authorities sent a statement to AFP confirming an “attack” without naming the victim.
Prison staff “took action to save the life of an incarcerated person” and “emergency medical services were requested,” it said. They added that the detainee was “transported to a local hospital for treatment and evaluation.”
Appeal rejected by Supreme Court
On May 25, 2020, the white police officer, a veteran Minneapolis police officer, remained kneeling on the black forty-year-old’s neck for almost ten minutes, indifferent to the interventions of shocked passers-by and the moans of George Floyd. Two other police officers helped restrain him.
The scene, filmed and posted online, sparked large demonstrations against racism and police violence across the United States and beyond.
Derek Chauvin was convicted of murder by Minnesota state courts after a closely watched trial in 2021 and sentenced to 22.5 years in prison.
The United States Supreme Court last week rejected Derek Chauvin’s appeal of that conviction.
Derek Chauvin also pleaded guilty before a federal judge to “violating the civil rights” of George Floyd and received another sentence in 2022, namely 21 years in prison.