Derek Chauvin

Derek Michael Chauvin is a police officer convicted of the murder of George Floyd. His ancestors were French Canadians. He is currently serving 22 1/2 years for that incident. He was the son of Robert Chauvin and Carolyn Pawlenty, stepson of Debra Chauvin (wife of Robert) and Leroy Pawlenty (husband of Carolyn), wife of Kellie Chauvin (nee Xiong), half-brother of Krysta Pawlenty, nephew of Richard and Carol Chauvin and Kathleen Williams, grandson of Arthur and Berenice Chauvin, and step-father of Kheng and Xommvaxai Xiong.

Early life
Chauvin was born on March 18, 1976. His mother was a stay at home parent and his father was certified public accountant. At the age of 7, his parents divorced.

Chauvin attended Park High School in Cottage Grove, Minnesota, but did not finish and later obtained a GED certificate. He earned a certificate in quantity food preparation at Dakota County Technical College and worked jobs as a prep cook at McDonald's and a buffet restaurant. He served in the United States Army Reserve from 1996 to 2004, including two stints in the military police between 1996 and 2000. During that time, he also attended Inver Hills Community College from 1995 to 1999 and later transferred to Metropolitan State University where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in law enforcement in 2006.

Concerns during his time at the police force
Chauvin was involved in three police shootings especially one where during a domestic violence incident in 2008 where it was when the suspect grabbed his pistol, Chauvin shot him twice. On September 4, 2017, Chauvin was among officers responding to a complaint by the mother of two young children. Videos from the scene were said to show Chauvin hitting a 14-year-old black boy in the head with a flashlight so hard he required stitches, then holding him down with his knee for nearly 17 minutes, ignoring the boy's complaints that he could not breathe. Before that, Zoya Code found herself in a similar position: handcuffed facedown on the ground, with Chauvin’s knee on her. Code said that Chauvin stayed on her neck, trying to shut her up. Code’s mother had accused her of trying to choke her with an extension cord, according to the arrest report. Code said in an interview that her mother was swinging the cord around, and that she merely grabbed hold of it. Julian Hernandez, a carpenter who was on a road trip to Minneapolis to see a band at the El Nuevo Rodeo nightclub, was arrested there. Hernandez tried to leave the club through the wrong door, and Chauvin stopped him and escorted him down a stairwell. Hernandez tried to turn around as he was preparing to handcuff him, so he pushed him away “by applying pressure toward his Lingual Artery” at the top of the neck. told him “you just need to leave,” and he remembered thinking that he was trying to leave but was not being allowed to do so. As Chauvin pushed him into a wall and grabbed him by the throat and while Hernandez said that he was choking him, Chauvin was not listening. Jimmy Bostic, had made a purchase at the Midtown Global Market in April 2016 and was waiting for a ride when private security guards asked him to leave. A different shop owner had accused him of panhandling, the arrest report said. Bostic argued, and Chauvin escorted Bostic outside for threatening to spit on the clerk. Monroe Skinaway was a chance witness to another incident prosecutors cited that occurred in March 2019. He said in an interview that he had called the police after he spotted his grandson’s stolen car parked at a South Minneapolis gas station. Sir Rilee Peet followed one officer to his squad car. After Peet refused to take his hands out of his pockets, the officer tried to grab him, and they scuffled and Chauvin sprayed him with Mace. Chauvin restrained him by the neck and pinned him facedown on the ground by kneeling on his lower back. Chauvin put Peet’s head face down in the water, when he tried to get up, Chauvin grabbed his long hair and put it back in the water.

Murder of George Floyd
On May 25, 2020, Chauvin was one of four officers involved in arresting George Floyd on suspicion of using a counterfeit $20 bill at a market and was the field training officer for one of the other officers involved. Security camera footage from a nearby business did not show Floyd resisting the arrest. The criminal complaint stated that Floyd repeatedly said he could not breathe while standing outside the police car, resisted getting in the car and fell down, he went to the ground face down. While Floyd was handcuffed and lying face down on the street, Chauvin knelt on Floyd's neck for more than nine minutes. After Chauvin placed his knee on Floyd's neck, Floyd repeatedly said "I can't breathe", "Mama", and "please". For part of the time, two other officers knelt on Floyd's back. During the final two minutes, Floyd lost his pulse. On May 26, 2021, Chauvin along with Thomas Lane, Alexander Kueng, and Tou Thao were fired. 3 days later, Chauvin was arrested, booked into the county jail, and charged with 2nd degree unintentional murder, 3rd degree murder, and 2nd degree manslaughter. When his conviction was followed, the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office transferred Chauvin to the Minnesota Department of Corrections at the Oak Park Heights, a maximum security prison where he was held in solitary confinement until sentencing. On April 20, 2021, Chauvin was found guilty on all three charges. 2nd degree unintentional murder carries a sentence of 40 years, 3rd degree murder carries a sentence of 25 years, and 2nd degree manslaughter carries a sentence of 10 years, which means that Chauvin faced 75 years. Prosecutors recommended 30 years. But 12.5 times 2 is 25, but if you add it by 4, it’s 29. So, prosecutors were seeking 29 years.

On June 25, 2021, Judge Peter Cahill sentenced Chauvin to 22 1/2 years (12 1/2 years with an additional 10 years, judges in Minnesota can add 10 years) for second degree murder while the other charges remain not adjudicated. If convicted of violating George Floyd’s civil rights in a federal court, Chauvin could face Life in prison.