Officer Who Knelt On George Floyd’s Neck Has History Of Complaints

Derek Chauvin was removed from the Minneapolis Police Department on Tuesday, but his record shows a dozen prior conduct complaints.

Hey @realDonaldTrump… we know you don’t like when Colin Kaepernick takes a knee.

Wondering how you feel about Minneapolis police officer #DerekChauvin taking a knee?

Is that murderer the same dude in the front row of your Minneapolis MAGA rally?#GeorgeFloyd#BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/1jRnsN3LSp

— Billy Baldwin (@BillyBaldwin) May 27, 2020

Chauvin was a 19-year veteran of the Minneapolis Police Department and received no disciplinary action for other claims of his abuse of power. According to NBC News, Chauvin’s career included use-of-force incidents and a lawsuit claiming that he violated a prisoner’s federal constitutional rights. (RELATED: George Floyd Protesters Attack Old Woman Holding Knife In Wheelchair While Looting)

In 2006, Chauvin was one of six officers that shot at a man who stabbed his girlfriend and his friend. The man, Wayne Reyes, threatened to kill the friend and girlfriend with a shotgun. When Reyes exited his vehicle with a shotgun after a police chase, “several officers fired multiple shots” according to NBC News. All of the officers involved were put on paid administrative leave following an investigation that would be inconclusive.

Chauvin was also one of the officers listed in a lawsuit filed by an inmate at the Minnesota Correctional Facility at Lino Lakes, which was dismissed without prejudice in 2007. 

In 2008, Chauvin was a responding officer on a domestic disturbance call. When Ira Latrell Toles did not obey Chauvin’s order to get down, the two engaged in a struggle where Toles attempted to get Chauvin’s gun. Chauvin fired twice at Tole’s abdomen. Toles was taken to the hospital and survived, according to the Pioneer Press at St. Paul.

During that same year Chauvin received a department medal of valor for “his response in an incident involving a man armed with a gun.” An award he was recognized again for by the department in 2009.

Demonstrations outside Chauvin’s home in Oakdale on Tuesday and Wednesday night were “very peaceful” according to NBC News.

George Floyd was arrested by police officers for alleged forgery. A bystander’s video shows Chauvin pinning Floyd to the ground and putting his knee on Floyd’s neck after he supposedly became violent during the arrest.