Ex-cop convicted of George Floyd murder transferred to new prison, months after stabbing

Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer convicted in the killing of George Floyd, has been transferred to a federal prison in Texas, nearly nine months after he was stabbed in another prison, the federal Bureau of Prisons told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

Chauvin, 47, is now being held at the Federal Correctional Institution in Big Spring, a low-security prison. He was previously held in Arizona at FCI Tucson in August 2022 to concurrently serve a 21-year federal sentence for violating Floyd’s civil rights and a 22 1/2-year state sentence for second-degree murder.

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The transfer comes nearly nine months after Chauvin was stabbed 22 times in prison by a former gang leader and former FBI informant.

Another former Minneapolis officer, Thomas Lane, who pinned Floyd’s legs as the man struggled to breathe, was released from federal prison in Colorado on Tuesday, the Bureau of Prisons said. Lane, 41, was serving a three-year sentence for aiding and abetting second-degree murder.

In this photo from a June 25, 2021, video, former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin addresses the court at the Hennepin County Courthouse in Minneapolis. (Court TV via AP, Pool, File)

When Lane pleaded guilty, he admitted that he intentionally assisted Floyd in restraining him in a manner that he knew created an unreasonable risk of death. He admitted that he heard Floyd say he couldn’t breathe, knew that Floyd became silent, had no pulse, and appeared to have lost consciousness.

Floyd, 46, died in May 2020 after Chauvin, who is white, pinned him to the ground with his knee on Floyd’s neck as the Black man repeatedly said he couldn’t breathe. Lane, who is white, pinned Floyd’s legs. J. Alexander Kueng, who is Black, knelt on Floyd’s back, and Tou Thao, who is Hmong American, held down bystanders during the 9 1/2-minute hold.

Kueng and Thao are both scheduled to be released in 2025. According to Bureau of Prisons records, Kueng is being held in a federal prison in Ohio and Thao is being held in a facility in Kentucky.

The killing, captured on bystander video, sparked protests in 2020 as part of a global confrontation with racial injustice.

Lane is the first of the four officers convicted of crimes related to Floyd’s killing to be released from prison. He was serving a federal sentence in addition to his state sentence after being convicted of violating Floyd’s civil rights.

Chauvin is making a longshot bid to overturn his federal guilty plea, claiming new evidence shows he did not cause Floyd’s death. If he fails, he won’t be released from prison until 2038.

John Turscak, who is serving a 30-year prison sentence for crimes he committed as a member of the Mexican Mafia prison gang, attacked Chauvin on Nov. 24, 2023. He told investigators he targeted the former Minneapolis police officer because of his infamous killing of Floyd.

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FCI Tucson, a medium-security prison, has been plagued by security lapses and staff shortages. Chauvin’s attorney at the time, Eric Nelson, had argued for him to be kept out of the general population and away from other inmates because he expected him to be a target.

Turscak, who was charged with attempted murder, told prison guards he would have killed Chauvin if they had not responded so quickly.