Derek Chauvin, the former police officer convicted of murdering George Floyd, was transferred to a Texas prison.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons announced on Tuesday that Chauvin had been transferred from a Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) in Tucson, Arizona, to an FCI in Big Spring, Texas, according to the Associated Press. The transfer came less than a year after Chauvin was stabbed 22 times in the Arizona prison.
The former Minnesota police officer was sentenced federally to 21 years for violating Floyd’s civil rights. He also received a 22.5-year state sentence for second-degree murder. He could be seen in a video placing a knee on Floyd’s neck. Floyd could be heard saying that he could not breathe.
Chauvin is attempting to overturn his conviction, citing new evidence from a pathologist who claims Floyd’s death may have resulted from complications from a rare tumor that can cause a fatal surge of adrenaline, reported PBS.
The riots that ensued in response to Floyd’s death cost insurance companies up to $2 billion in damages.
A former Mexican gang member and one-time informant for the FBI stabbed Chauvin 22 times in December at the Arizona prison. John Turscak was charged with attempted murder for the stabbing. He told correctional officers he would have killed Chauvin if they had taken longer to respond, according to prosecutors.
Big Spring’s FCI is a low-security prison, while the Arizona FCI that previously held Chauvin is a medium-security prison.
Thomas Lane, a former Minnesota police officer present at the scene of Floyd’s death, was released from federal prison in Colorado on Tuesday, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons. He was sentenced to three years for aiding and abetting manslaughter.
Lane held down Floyd as he struggled to breathe. The former officer, as part of his guilty plea, admitted he was aware that the positioning of the officers put Floyd’s life in danger. He also admitted he heard Floyd say he could not breathe and noticed that Floyd had appeared to lose consciousness.
Former Minnesota Officer J. Alexander Kueng, who also helped hold down Floyd, is set to be released from federal prison next year along with Former Minnesota Officer Tou Thao, who kept bystanders from intervening when police restrained Floyd.
