Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer who was convicted in the death of George Floyd, faced a violent incident in an Arizona prison, as confirmed by Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison on Saturday.
Earlier reports from the Associated Press indicated that Chauvin had been stabbed and seriously injured on Friday.
In response to the incident, Ellison expressed sadness, saying in an emailed statement, “I am sad to hear that Derek Chauvin was the target of violence.”
He emphasized that Chauvin had been duly convicted of his crimes and, like any incarcerated individual, should be able to serve his sentence without fear of retaliation or violence.
However, he did not provide further details about the nature of the attack.
Currently, Chauvin is serving a 21-year federal sentence for violating George Floyd’s civil rights, along with a concurrent 22 and a half-year sentence for murder based on his conviction in Minnesota state court.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons confirmed that an unidentified inmate had been assaulted at the Federal Correctional Institution in Tucson, Arizona.
They stated that prison employees had swiftly initiated life-saving measures for the injured individual, who was then transported by emergency medical services to a hospital.
The death of George Floyd in 2020 had triggered widespread protests around the world, highlighting issues of police brutality and racism.
Chauvin, who is white, had been captured on a cellphone video kneeling on the neck of George Floyd, who was a handcuffed Black man, for more than nine minutes.
This act of violence led to Chauvin’s conviction and served as a focal point in the ongoing discussions and actions aimed at addressing systemic issues in the criminal justice system.