Derek Chauvin Stabbed in Prison, 'Seriously Injured'

Jeff Charles reporting for RedState 

Derek Chauvin, the former police officer convicted in the murder of George Floyd, was reportedly stabbed and “seriously injured” by another inmate at a federal prison in Arizona.

The incident was reported by the Associated Press, and corroborated by several other news outlets, late Friday night.

Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer convicted of murdering George Floyd, was stabbed by another inmate and seriously injured Friday at a federal prison in Arizona, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press.

The attack happened at the Federal Correctional Institution, Tucson, a medium-security prison that has been plagued by security lapses and staffing shortages. The person was not authorized to publicly discuss details of the attack and spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity.

The Bureau of Prisons confirmed that an incarcerated person was assaulted at FCI Tucson at around 12:30 p.m. local time Friday. In a statement, the agency said responding employees contained the incident and performed “life-saving measures” before the inmate, who it did not name, was taken to a hospital for further treatment and evaluation.

No employees were injured and the FBI was notified, the Bureau of Prisons said. Visiting at the facility, which has about 380 inmates, has been suspended.

Chauvin was convicted in 2021 for the murder of George Floyd, a black man, during an arrest in Minneapolis in May 2020. The footage of the incident sparked nationwide protests, riots, and a national debate about police misconduct and a lack of accountability in law enforcement.

The Supreme Court recently denied Chauvin’s request for an appeal, upholding his conviction and further cementing his sentence.

Reports suggest that Chauvin’s stabbing wasn’t an isolated incident in federal prisons--or at that facility.

Chauvin’s stabbing is the second high-profile attack on a federal prisoner in the last five months. In July, disgraced sports doctor Larry Nassar was stabbed by a fellow inmate at a federal penitentiary in Florida.

It is also the second major incident at the Tucson federal prison in a little over a year. In November 2022, an inmate at the facility’s low-security prison camp pulled out a gun and attempted to shoot a visitor in the head. The weapon, which the inmate shouldn’t have had, misfired and no one was hurt.

Eric Nelson, Chauvin’s lawyer, argued for keeping him out of the general population due to the possibility that he would become a target. In Minnesota, he was kept mostly in solitary confinement for this reason.

The stabbing comes as the federal Bureau of Prisons has become the target of criticism and scrutiny over its apparent inability to protect the safety of its prisoners.

An ongoing AP investigation has uncovered deep, previously unreported flaws within the Bureau of Prisons, the Justice Department’s largest law enforcement agency with more than 30,000 employees, 158,000 inmates and an annual budget of about $8 billion.

AP reporting has revealed rampant sexual abuse and other criminal conduct by staff, dozens of escapes, chronic violence, deaths and severe staffing shortages that have hampered responses to emergencies, including inmate assaults and suicides.

This is a breaking story. RedState will bring you updates as they become available.