Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government The officer at the center of George Floyd’s death has a history of poor behavior.
Documents from the Minneapolis Police Department released Thursday reveal that officer Derek Chauvin, who was videotaped kneeling on Floyd’s neck for more than five minutes as onlookers begged him to stop, was internally reviewed 17 times for complaints lodged against him during his 19 years serving as an officer.
“Minneapolis officer Derek Chauvin, who knelt on George Floyd’s neck, has had 17 complaints against him filed over the years,” Buzzfeed reporter Tasneem Nashrulla tweeted along with an image of the 17 complaints. “All but one were closed without discipline, per records.”
In 2008, Chauvin shot Ira Latrell Toles while responding to a domestic abuse call in which Chauvin and other officers said Toles had reached for a gun.
In another instance, Chauvin was placed on leave in 2011 after he was part of a group of officers who pursued 23-year-old Leroy Martinez and shot him. Eyewitnesses said they never saw Martinez holding a gun, and though Chauvin was not the officer who shot Martinez, he was placed on temporary leave.
In several of the internal reviews published by the Civilian Review Authority, Chauvin was accused of using “derogatory language,” a “demeaning tone,” and “language — other” while on duty.
Thousands of protesters and looters poured into the streets of Minneapolis in anger over the past two days since video footage showed the death of Floyd.
“Why is the man who killed George Floyd not in jail?” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said on Wednesday. “We cannot turn a blind eye. It is on us as leaders to see this for what it is and call it what it is.”
Minneapolis officer Derek Chauvin, who knelt on George Floyd's neck, has had 17 complaints against him filed over the years.
All but one were closed without discipline, per records. pic.twitter.com/WSy57sKr4S
— Tasneem N (@TasneemN) May 28, 2020
