Derek Chauvin: What we know about the former Police Officer Charged in George Floyd's death. Fired Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin already Arrested A look at why ex-police officer Derek Chauvin is charged with third-degree murder.
Derek Chauvin worked for the Minneapolis Police Department for more than 18 years. Then, within one week, he was filmed kneeling on George Floyd's neck for eight minutes before he died; fired from the police department; and charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.
Throughout it all, protesters in Minneapolis and across the country demanded justice for Floyd and accountability for Chauvin.
Chauvin is due to appear in court later this month. Here's what we know about the veteran officer charged with Floyd's death.
Before he knelt on Floyd's neck, Chauvin was the subject of 17 prior complaints filed against him with the Minneapolis Police Department's Internal Affairs. Police confirmed the complaints were filed but didn't detail why they were filed or what they entailed.
Only two of the 17 complaints were "closed with discipline," according to a MPD internal affairs public summary. In both cases, Chauvin received a letter of reprimand.
According to Communities Against Police Brutality, a Minnesota nonprofit that created a database of complaints against officers in the state, Chauvin received oral reprimands for using a "demeaning tone," "derogatory language" and other language that merited discipline.
Neither the nonprofit database nor the Minneapolis internal affairs public summary include dates or descriptions that incited the complaints.
Former officer Tou Thao, who was also involved in Floyd's arrest, had six complaints filed with internal affairs, one of which was still open, the summary said. The other five were closed without discipline.
The other two former officers, J. Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane, had no complaints filed, according to a MPD internal affairs public summary.
He and George Floyd once worked security shifts at the same nightclub
Both men worked security at the El Nuevo Rodeo club, down the street from Minneapolis' Third Precinct, former club owner Maya Santamaria told.
George Floyd and Derek Chauvin once worked overlapping security shifts at the same nightclub
Floyd worked some Tuesdays as extra security. Chauvin worked as an off-duty police officer for the club for nearly 17 years,
He is being held at a maximum-security prison
Chauvin is being kept at Oak Park Heights state prison, the highest custody level in the Minnesota corrections system.
"The move to DOC custody was made out of an abundance of caution to ensure he is safely held and after concern about space in the jail due to large numbers of arrests related to the unrest over the last few nights," the state Department of Corrections said.
There, he has access to phones and video visitations. In-person visits are not allowed because of Covid-19 concerns.
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