November 25, 2023

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota’s attorney general on Saturday condemned the state prison attack on Derek Chauvin and said the former Minneapolis police officer convicted of killing George Floyd should be able to serve his sentence without fear violence.

A person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press on Friday that Chauvin was stabbed by another inmate at the Federal Correctional Institution in Tucson, a medium-security prison that has been plagued by security failures and staff shortages. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the incident.

The person added that Chauvin was seriously injured in the attack, which occurred Friday night.

“We have received word that he is expected to survive,” Brian Evans, a spokesman for the Minnesota attorney general’s office, said Saturday.

The US Federal Bureau of Prisons confirmed an incident at the facility and said employees carried out “life-saving measures” before the inmate was taken to a hospital for treatment and check-ups. The agency did not identify the victim or provide a medical status “due to privacy and safety concerns.”

Prosecutors who secured a second-degree murder conviction once morest Chauvin in a 2021 jury trial expressed dismay that he was subjected to violence while in federal custody.

“I am saddened to hear that Derek Chauvin was the target of violence. He was duly convicted of his crimes and, like any incarcerated individual, he should be able to serve his sentence without fear of retaliation or violence,” Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison stressed in a statement.

The Federal Bureau of Prisons said no employees at the Tucson facility were injured in the attack and that the FBI was notified. The center has around 380 inmates.

Terrence Floyd, George Floyd’s brother, told The Associated Press on Saturday that he does not wish anyone to be stabbed in prison, and that he was stunned when he learned what had happened to Chauvin.

“I’m not going to put my energy into anything that happens within those four walls, because my energy went into putting it within those four walls,” Terrence Floyd said. “Whatever happens between those four walls, I don’t really have any feelings regarding it.”

Chauvin, 47, was sent to Tucson Correctional Facility from a maximum-security Minnesota state prison in August 2022 to simultaneously serve a 21-year federal sentence for violating Floyd’s civil rights and a 22-year state sentence and half for second degree murder.

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Sisak reported in New York. Associated Press writers Amy Forliti in Minneapolis and Michael Balsamo in New York contributed to this report.