Officer Convicted in George Floyd’s Death Stabbed in Prison, in Critical Condition

Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer convicted of murdering George Floyd in 2020, has been seriously injured in a stabbing incident at a federal prison in Arizona.

The attack occurred at the medium-security Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) Tucson around 12:30 p.m. local time. Chauvin, 47, was serving a 21-year federal sentence for violating Floyd’s civil rights and a 22 and a half-year state sentence for second-degree murder. He had been mostly held in solitary confinement in Minnesota for his protection before being transferred to FCI Tucson in August 2022.

The Bureau of Prisons confirmed the assault without revealing the identity of the inmate involved. Staff performed life-saving measures before the individual was hospitalized for further treatment.

The incident at FCI Tucson is part of a series of high-profile incidents in the U.S. federal prison system, including the attack on USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar in a Florida federal penitentiary and the attempted shooting by an inmate in November 2022 at FCI Tucson.

This stabbing raises questions about the safety and security of high-profile inmates in the federal prison system. It also highlights the ongoing challenges within the Bureau of Prisons, which has faced scrutiny for systemic issues, including sexual abuse by staff, chronic violence, and severe staffing shortages affecting emergency responses.

Bureau of Prisons Director Colette Peters has been criticized for lack of transparency and slow responses to inquiries, despite pledges to improve hiring practices and internal investigations.