On Friday (24th November), former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who was convicted for killing George Floyd, was stabbed by another inmate at a Federal prison in Arizona in the USA. Chauvin sustained significant injuries during the incident at Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) around 12:30 p.m. The identity of the attacker is not yet revealed.
According to reports, life-saving measures were administered by prison staff before Derek Chauvin and his assailant were both transported to hospital for further evaluation and treatment. Fortunately, no staff members sustained injuries, and the FBI has been alerted. Visiting at the facility, which accommodates approximately 380 inmates, has been temporarily suspended.
The stabbing incident occurred a mere week following the rejection of Chauvin’s appeal by the US Supreme Court regarding his second-degree murder conviction in the May 2020 death of George Floyd. Chauvin had argued that new evidence demonstrated he was not responsible for Floyd’s death, a tragic event that ignited nationwide protests, and riots, and sparked an extensive debate on racial discrimination in the USA.
Additionally, his legal team contended that Derek Chauvin was deprived of a fair trial due to the extensive publicity surrounding the case and apprehensions about potential violence in the event of an acquittal. They had strongly advocated for Chauvin to be segregated from the prison’s general population, expressing concerns that he would be a target among other inmates. Now, this incident of an attack on the former policeman has surfaced.
Derek Chauvin was convicted in the George Floyd murder case
Notably, Derek Chauvin has been serving his 22.5-year prison sentence at this prison – Federal Correctional Institution, Tucson in Arizona – since he was found guilty by a state court in April 2021 of killing George Floyd. On 25th May 2020, 46-year-old Floyd was reportedly murdered by Derek Chauvin, who knelt on the former’s neck for 7 long minutes until his body became unresponsive. A shopkeeper had called the cops on Floyd for allegedly trying to pass a ‘potential counterfeit bill’. On being taken to the Hennepin County Medical Center, Floyd was pronounced dead.
#Minneapolis: Video showing the brutal arrest of George Floyd, who later died. So sad. Rest in peace 🌹#GeorgeFloyd #GeorgeFloydWasMurdered #GeorgeFloydprotest #George #GeorgeLloyd #GeorgeFloydMurder #George_Floyd #GeorgeFloydrip #Corona #coronavirus #COVID__19 #Covid_19 #COVID pic.twitter.com/080z3PALEE
— Faruk Firat (@FarukFirat1987) May 27, 2020
The viral cell phone video captured by a pedestrian, who repeatedly objected to the action of Chauvin, showed the cop trying to choke Floyd with his knee. Despite the victim complaining about not being able to breathe, coupled with verbal protest from onlookers, the said officer was unmoved.
Security lapses in the prisons in the USA
Attacks inside the US prisons, like this one, are not a new thing. Staffing shortages and security lapses have posed ongoing challenges for FCI Tucson and various federal prisons. A year prior to the recent incident, an inmate at the low-security prison camp of the Arizona facility brandished a firearm in an attempt to shoot a visitor. Fortunately, no one was injured in that incident.
