Derek Chauvin Bio | Wiki
Derek Chauvin is an American former Minneapolis police officer. He came into the national and world at large limelight on May 25, 2020. This was after he was identified as the white officer who pinned down George Floyd, an unarmed Minneapolis black man. Chauvin used his knee, pressing it to the back of Floyd’s neck for almost eight minutes until the victim lost consciousness. Chauvin has been on trial since March 8, 2021, for murder and manslaughter. The verdict is expected to be out in late April 2021.
Chauvin was fired immediately after the incident along with three other cops who were at the scene. The entire incident was captured on CCTV cameras from a nearby restaurant and also recorded by Darnella Frazier, a bystander. This death was viewed as a racially motivated murder and led to widespread protests.
Later, it was revealed that Chauvin had a history of involvement in violent incidences in his 19-year career as an officer in Minneapolis. He took part in several police-involved shootings within Minneapolis.
Derek Chauvin Verdict
Floyd’s family led by his two brothers, a sister, and cousins retained renowned human rights lawyer Ben Crump. They wanted murder charges preferred against the four officers, Chauvin, Thomas Lane, Tou Thao, and J. Alexander Kueng, involved in the death of their kin.
The trial began on March 8, 2021, and concluded with final submissions from parties on April 19, 2021. The jury of 12, half white and half people of color retired for deliberations. The verdict is expected when the jury concludes their deliberations.
Derek Chauvin Age
He was born on March 19, 1976, in Oakdale, Minnesota, in the United States. Chauvin is 45 years old.
Derek Chauvin Height | Weight
He is a man of above-average stature. Chauvin stands at a height of 5 ft 9 in (Approx. 1.75 m). He weighs 140 lbs (63.5 kgs).
Derek Chauvin Parents
Chauvin was born in Oakdale to his father, a certified public accountant, and his mother, a housewife. However, his parents divorced when he was seven years old and they raised him jointly but separately. It is not clear if Chauvin has any siblings.
Derek Chauvin Wife
Chauvin was married to his wife Kellie Chauvin in 2010. She is a former radiologist in a Hennepin County emergency room. Kellie also competed in the 2018 Miss Minnesota beauty pageant. She was born in Laos, Vietnam, before migrating to the United States.
The two are said to have met when Chauvin brought in someone for a health check. Their romance blossomed and culminated in marriage. However, Shortly after the killing of George Floyd, Kellie filed for divorce from her husband which was finalized in February 2021. While announcing her divorce from Chauvin, Kellie released a statement via her lawyers expressing her deepest sympathies for the family of George Floyd and all who were mourning his death.
Derek Chauvin Children
Chauvin and his ex-wife Kellie had no kids together. However, Kellie had two children from her first marriage to Kujay Xiong. She termed her first husband as abusive and thus their divorce.
Derek Chauvin Record
Since the incident in which he is accused of killing George Floyd on May 25, 2020, it has surfaced that Chauvin has been involved in other incidences in the past.
According to records, in 2006, Chauvin and five others responded to a stabbing where Wayne Reyes, 42, was shot and killed by one of the officers after allegedly pulling a shotgun on the officers. This is according to Communities United Against Police Brutality, a police watchdog nonprofit based in Minneapolis in a report titled “Stolen Lives”.
He shot and wounded Ira Latrell Toles in 2008 during a domestic assault call. According to a 2011 article from the Pioneer Press, Chauvin shot Toles in the abdomen when he and other officers showed up at an apartment in south Minneapolis just before 2 a.m. It is alleged that Toles grabbed for an officer’s gun occasioning the shooting.
Derek Chauvin George Floyd Death
Chauvin along with other white officers Thomas Lane, Tou Thao, and J. Alexander Kueng, were out to arrest a black man George Floyd on suspicion of a “Forgery in Progress”. However, the arrest led to Floyd’s death when Chauvin pinned Floyd to the pavement exerting his body weight on Floyd’s neck using his right knee in a video recorded by eyewitnesses. Floyd died on May 25, 2020, at Hennepin County Medical Center at around 9.25 pm.
Floyd is seen wailing the phrase “I can’t breathe” several times with his face planted on the pavement and hands apparently cuffed behind his back. Chauvin was seen kneeling on his neck. Eyewitnesses standing nearby were heard telling officers that Floyd’s nose was bleeding and that he was dying. Chauvin and his colleagues showed no reaction as the man gradually went silent and lost consciousness.
In the video, Chauvins’s knee remained on Floyd for at least seven minutes, even as the man was pleading for help. “My stomach hurts. My neck hurts. Everything hurts.” Floyd pleaded. At one point the Floyd says, “Give me some water or something. Please. Please.”
Floyd pleaded with Chauvin to let go while groaning in pain. One female bystander pointed to the officers that Floyd’s nose was bleeding and prompted them to check his pulse. Officer Chauvin was unmoved by these appeals and appeared to be quite relaxed all through. After about four or so minutes, Floyd seemed to slump and fell silent. He was pronounced dead at Hennepin County Medical Center.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey was quick to condemn the incident. He called the man’s death “simply awful,” and “wrong at every level” at the press conference on May 26, 2020. Part of his statement read:
“For the better part of the night I’ve been trying to find the words to describe what happened and all I keep coming back to is that he should not have died.”
His cause of death according to the coroner’s report is yet to be released at the time of going to press. The FBI is investigating Floyd’s death, along with the Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman, and Erica McDonald, the United States Attorney for the District of Minnesota. The family of George Floyd has contracted renowned civil rights attorney Ben Crump to pursue justice for their kin. After the incident, several memes and online “facts” surfaced on social media wrongly captioning Chauvin as Jonathan Riches.
Derek Chauvin Arrest
The family of slain black man George Floyd, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, and protesters called for the arrest and prosecution of Chauvin along with the other three police officers. They wanted the former officers charged with the murder of Mr. Floyd.
Derek Chauvin Trial
Finally, on May 29, 2020, the County attorney’s office bowed to pressure and arrested and charged Chauvin for third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. The charges were later upgraded to second-degree murder and the other three officers involved in the killing were charged with aiding and abetting a homicide. This case continues to elicit intense anger from the public that is now calling for the removal of Mike Freeman as the county attorney.
Derek Chauvin Charges Upgraded
After being charged initially with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter, Chauvin’s charges were upgraded to second-degree murder after sustained public outcries. The charges were upgraded by Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison on June 3, 2020. The three other ex-officers involved in the murder, Thomas Lane, J. Alexander Kueng, and Tou Thao, were charged with aiding and abetting murder.
Chauvin is represented by Eric Nelson of the Halberg Criminal Defense firm.
I Can’t Breathe Protests
Floyd’s death attracted crowds of protesters on May 27, 2020, in downtown Minneapolis at the scene where Floyd was killed. Protesters clashed with police where they lobbed tear gas canisters to disperse the crowds. They destroyed parts of a building and a police squad car.
Floyd’s final words before he appeared to lose consciousness were a plea for help: “I can’t breathe.” The protests are named after his last words. More protests were scheduled to take place in his native Houston. Floyd’s death brought memories of another video recorded in New York City, where Eric Garner, an unarmed black man died as a result of an officer’s chokehold in 2014.