Does Derek Chauvin have a violent past?

FORMER Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty of second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter in the death of George Floyd back in April of 2021.

Chauvin is infamous for his arrest of in May of 2020, where he was seen pressing his knee against the 46-year-old man’s neck for nine minutes.

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Does Derek Chauvin have a violent past?

The former cop was charged with second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter in the death of Floyd.

He was found guilty of all counts by jurors at the Hennepin County Court and faced a maximum sentence of 75 years.

On June 25, 2021, a judge ruled that Chauvin would serve a 270-month sentence, in addition to the 10 years sentence.

In total, , with the 199 days he has served since his charges counting toward the sentence.

Floyd’s brother, Terrence Floyd begged the court for Chauvin to have a maximum sentence, saying: “On behalf of me and my family, we seek the maximum penalty.

“We don’t want to see no more slaps on the wrist. We’ve been through that already… no, no, no, no.”

“If it was us, if the roles was reversed, there wouldn’t be no case.

“It would have been open and shut. We’d have been under the jail for murdering somebody. So, we ask for that same penalty for Derek Chauvin.”

Chauvin broke his silence during the sentencing trial and apologized to Floyd’s family, saying: “I want to give my condolences to the Floyd family.

“There’s going to be some other information in the future that would be of interest and I hope things will give you some peace of mind.”

Yet, Chauvin’s violent involvement in Floyd’s arrest in May of 2020 wasn’t his first-time complaint.

Since joining the police force in 2001, Chauvin had 18 complaints filed against him, only two of which were “closed with discipline,” reported.

A database that documents instances of police brutality listed  that have all been “closed” and resulted in “no discipline.”

Other reports documented his involvement in multiple violent and deadly cases of police abuse.

2006

According to CNN, in 2006, Chauvin and five other officers shot and killed a man who had stabbed his girlfriend and a friend.

2008

Two years later, he was reportedly involved in an altercation with an individual suspected of a domestic dispute in which Chauvin shot the man twice – though the man survived.

2011

In 2011, Chauvin was placed on a three-day leave, along with four other officers, for his involvement in the non-fatal shooting of an indigenous man,  reported.

The officers were allowed back to work after it was determined they responded “appropriately”.

Five more complaints made against Chauvin prior to 2012 have also been closed and resulted in no disciplinary action.

In 2020, Mylan Masson, a retired Minneapolis Park police officer and police training expert, told the amount of grievances against Chauvin in his 19 years on the police force is “a little bit higher than normal”.

Have the other three officers involved in Floyd’s arrest had complaints filed against them?

The three other fired officers who assisted in Floyd’s arrest – ,  and  – were  on charges of aiding and abetting murder and manslaughter.

Thao faced legal action in 2017 on behalf of a man who said Thao used excessive force during an arrest three years prior,  reported in 2020.

According to the lawsuit, which was settled out of court, Lamar Ferguson, 26, said the officers “punch[ed], kick[ed], and kn[eed] him to the face and body,” while he was handcuffed.

The police assault caused “broken teeth as well as other bruising and trauma.”

It remains unclear whether the officers involved in Ferguson’s arrest ever faced disciplinary action.

The other two officers were relative newcomers to the department at the time of Floyd’s controversial arrest.

Lane was a former juvenile detention guard who did volunteer work with Somali refugees.

Kueng got his start in law enforcement by patrolling his college campus and a department store.

Records of complaints against Kueng and Lane have not yet been made available.

All three men, Thao, Kueng, and Lane, have been fired from the police force.

Their trials regarding the death of Floyd have been pushed back to March 2022, a judge ruled.