Derek Chauvin, officer convicted of murdering George Floyd, expected to survive prison stabbing

Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer convicted of George Floyd’s murder, is expected to survive after he was stabbed in prison, the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office said Saturday.

Chauvin was hospitalized Friday following an assault at the medium-security Federal Correctional Institution at Tucson. A law enforcement source with knowledge of the incident said Chauvin was seriously injured in the assault.

The Federal Bureau of Prisons said the incident took place at about 12:30 p.m. and “responding employees initiated life-saving measures for one incarcerated individual.”

The press secretary for the Office of Minnesota Attorney General said Saturday, “I can confirm that, as of last night, Chauvin was expected to survive.” Further details were not released.

In a statement Friday, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said he was “saddened” by the incident.

“I am sad to hear that Derek Chauvin was the target of violence,” he said. “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.”

Asked about the stabbing and Chauvin’s condition, his attorney, Eric Nelson, said he was “not commenting.”

Chauvin, who knelt on Floyd’s neck for 9½ minutes while Floyd said he couldn’t breathe, is simultaneously serving a 21-year federal sentence for violating Floyd’s civil rights and a 22½-year state sentence for second-degree murder. Former Minneapolis police officers Tou Thao, J. Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane were also convicted in both state and federal courts for their roles in Floyd’s May 25, 2020, death.

The Bureau of Prisons had said it notified the FBI of the assault on Chauvin. An FBI spokesperson based in Phoenix said Friday night that the agency was aware of what happened.