Derek Chauvin, the ex-Minneapolis police officer who murdered George Floyd, was stabbed in prison on Friday and seriously injured, law enforcement sources said.
The Associated Press first reported that Chauvin, 47, was attacked by another inmate at the medium-security federal facility in Tucson, Arizona, where he is serving time for Floyd's murder. Details of the stabbing weren't immediately made clear, but the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) told the AP in a statement that a prisoner was assaulted around 12:30 p.m. local time. First responders performed "life-saving measures" and transported the prisoner to the hospital, the BOP said.
While the BOP didn't name the inmate who was attacked, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison confirmed it to be Chauvin, telling the Star Tribune that he had been notified of the stabbing. "I am sad to hear that Derek Chauvin was the target of violence," Ellison told the Tribune. "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."
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Chauvin made worldwide headlines in May 2020 when, as a member of the Minneapolis Police Department, he killed Floyd during an attempted arrest. Video of the incident went viral and shows Chauvin kneeling on Floyd's neck for nearly nine minutes while he repeatedly states, "I can't breathe." Floyd would later be pronounced dead at the hospital. Floyd's death sparked worldwide anger and turbocharged the Black Lives Matter protests that were seen throughout the summer of 2020.
Chauvin was eventually convicted in federal court of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter related to Floyd's death. He was sentenced to more than 22 years in prison in June 2021. He was sentenced to an additional 21 years in prison by the state of Minnesota in 2022 for violating Floyd's civil rights.
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