By Michael Goldberg
Associated Press
MINNEAPOLIS — Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer convicted of killing George Floyd, was transferred to a federal prison in Texas almost nine months after he was stabbed in a different facility, the federal Bureau of Prisons told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
Chauvin, 47, is now housed 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 simultaneously serve a 21-year federal sentence for violating Floyd’s civil rights and a 22 1/2-year state sentence for second-degree murder.
The transfer comes nearly nine months after Chauvin was stabbed 22 times in prison by a former gang leader and one-time FBI informant.
Another former Minneapolis officer, Thomas Lane, who held down 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 manslaughter.
When Lane pleaded guilty, he admitted that he intentionally helped restrain Floyd in a way that he knew created an unreasonable risk and caused his death. He admitted that he heard Floyd say he couldn’t breathe, knew Floyd fell silent, had no pulse and appeared to have lost consciousness.
Floyd, 46, died in May 2020 after Chauvin pinned him to the ground with a knee on Floyd’s neck as he repeatedly said he couldn’t breathe. Lane held down Floyd’s legs. J. Alexander Kueng knelt on Floyd’s back, and Tou Thao kept bystanders from intervening during the 9 1/2-minute restraint.
Kueng and Thao are both set to be released in 2025. Kueng is detained at a federal prison in Ohio and Thao at a facility in Kentucky, according to Bureau of Prisons records.
The killing, captured on bystander video, sparked protests in 2020 as part of a worldwide reckoning over racial injustice.
Lane is the first of the four officers convicted of crimes related to Floyd’s killing to be released from prison. He served time for a federal sentence alongside 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 didn’t cause Floyd’s death. If he is unsuccessful, he would not be released until 2038.
The 4 Cs of inmate management: Maintaining order involves more than just searching and counting inmates and performing inspections. It involves understanding your inmate population.
John Turscak, who is serving a 30-year sentence for crimes committed while a member of the Mexican Mafia prison gang, attacked Chauvin on Nov. 24, 2023. He told investigators he targeted the ex-Minneapolis police officer because of his notoriety for killing Floyd.
FCI Tucson, a medium-security prison, has been plagued by security lapses and staffing shortages. Chauvin’s lawyer at the time, Eric Nelson, had advocated for keeping him out of the general population and away from other inmates, anticipating he would be a target.
Turscak, who was charged with attempted murder, told correctional officers he would have killed Chauvin had they not responded so quickly.
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Associated Press reporter Mike Balsamo contributed to this report from Washington.