Derek Chauvin, convicted in George Floyd’s death, in stable condition after stabbing, lawyer says prison officials told him
KOLD, POOL, CNN
By Taylor Romine, CNN
(CNN) — An attorney representing Derek Chauvin, the Minneapolis police officer convicted in the 2020 murder of George Floyd, said he was able to speak with officials at the Federal Bureau of Prisons after his client was stabbed in prison and has learned Chauvin’s health is “decent and improving.”
Officials have told attorney Greg Erickson that Chauvin’s condition is stable, he told CNN’s Laura Coates, noting the term stable is ambiguous. He spoke with a bureau official who “intimated that his condition is decent and improving, and intimated he will be contacting his family members once he is able to,” he said.
Erickson said he spoke with the official on Monday for about 10 minutes but “she told me basically nothing.”
“She said that the matter was under active investigation, and they weren’t going to give out any details,” he said. Erickson said for him to learn anything more on Chauvin’s medical condition, his client needed to fill out a report to give permission, which he hasn’t been given yet.
Erickson previously told CNN that Chauvin’s family wasn’t alerted about the incident and his parents hadn’t been able to reach him.
Erickson said he believes the agency won’t share details due to medical privacy, but they are really to try and keep the story out of the media.
The Bureau of Prisons said in a later statement that it “takes seriously our duty to protect the individuals entrusted in our custody, as well as maintain the safety of correctional employees and the community.
“For privacy, safety, and security reasons, we do not discuss the conditions of confinement for any individual in our custody, including medical status,” the agency said. “Additionally, we do not comment on matters related to investigations.”
Chauvin was assaulted Friday afternoon at the Federal Correctional Institution in Tucson, a medium-security facility, while serving two concurrent sentences in Floyd’s death.
The Bureau of Prisons said an inmate was assaulted at the facility and “responding employees initiated life-saving measures.” The inmate was taken to a hospital.
In April 2021, Chauvin was convicted on state charges of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. He was sentenced to 22-and-a-half years in prison. Months later, Chauvin pleaded guilty to federal charges of depriving Floyd of his civil rights and was sentenced to 21 years in prison.
Chauvin, who is White, knelt on Floyd’s neck and back for more than nine minutes on May 25, 2020, after officers responded to reports suspecting Floyd used a counterfeit $20 at a Minneapolis corner store. Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, was handcuffed and lying face down on a street as he pleaded he couldn’t breathe.
Floyd’s death sparked massive racial injustice protests across the nation and around the world over the way police treat people of color, particularly Black Americans in the US.
Erickson said he was not aware of Chauvin being attacked before Friday’s incident, but he said Chauvin had always been concerned about his safety his safety entering the prison system. Going forward, Chauvin’s legal team and family will “need to be provided some sort of assurances that what happened can’t happen again,” he said.
This story has been updated with additional information.
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