Former officer Derek Chauvin, who has been identified as the officer who kneeled on Floyd’s neck for several minutes, had been previously involved in multiple incidents.
One of four Minneapolis police officers who were fired after the death of George Floyd based on video footage of an officer kneeling on his neck while he struggled to breathe had been previously under review by the department for his use of force.
Former officer Derek Chauvin, who has been identified as the officer who knelt on Floyd’s neck for several minutes, had been previously involved in multiple incidents, according to a database created by Minneapolis’ Communities United Against Police Brutality. Ten complaints were listed for Chauvin. In three instances he received an oral reprimand, while in the seven others, he was not disciplined.
On Monday, Chauvin and three other officers responded to a call about an alleged "forgery in progress" and found Floyd, 46, sitting in his car. Police claim Floyd “physically resisted” when they tried to arrest him. Part of what happened next was captured on video. Floyd can be seen pleading for help and saying he can’t breathe as Chauvin kept his knee on Floyd's neck.
Additional video footage released by a nearby restaurant, shows part of the incident, doesn't appear to show a struggle on Floyd's part.
Chauvin, who had been on the force since 2001, has been involved in at least three violent incidents in his career, according to the database. In 2006, he was involved in the fatal shooting of a man who allegedly stabbed two people and then turned a gun on cops, according to the report a titled “Stolen Lives” by the Minneapolis’ Communities United Against Police Brutality. It is not clear who fired their weapons in this incident, but Chauvin was not disciplined.
In 2008, Chauvin, 44, shot a man who allegedly tried to grab an officer’s gun during a domestic violent call. The man survived. The shoot was found to be justified by police. In 2011, he was one of five officers placed on leave after an indigenous man was shot and wounded, according to the database. He did not fire the shot.
Several more complaints were listed about him on Minneapolis’ Office of Police Conduct complaint database and on a database by the city’s Civilian Review Authority. The details of the cases are not open to the public, but Chauvin was not disciplined.
Protestors who have been marching in Minneapolis since Floyd’s death wrote “murderer” on Chauvin’s driveway this week and left a sign that said “I can’t breathe,” photos of the home taken by the Associated Press show.
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