Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin has been transferred to a prison in Texas after surviving a stabbing in an Arizona facility.
Chauvin was convicted in April 2021 of murdering George Floyd, a Black man, by kneeling on his neck for more than nine minutes. He was sentenced to more than 22 years in prison for the murder and was serving his sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution in Tucson, Ariz. The facility is a medium-security one, but has reportedly faced problems with security and staffing.
In November 2023, Chauvin was stabbed about 22 times with a makeshift knife by John Turscak, a former member of the Mexican Mafia gang serving a 30-year sentence for crimes he committed when acting as an informant for the FBI, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Though seriously injured in the attack, Chauvin survived.
While the Bureau of Prisons at the time said no employees were injured in the incident, the responding prison employees “initiated life-saving measures for one incarcerated individual.”
“Emergency Medical Services (EMS) were requested while life-saving efforts continued,” the bureau said in a statement. “The incarcerated individual was transported by EMS to a local hospital for further treatment and evaluation.”
Turscak, who represented himself in court on charges of attempted murder, assault with intent to commit murder, assault with a dangerous weapon and assault resulting in serious bodily injury, said he had been thinking of hurting Chauvin for about a month before his attack.
Turscak reportedly chose the day after Thanksgiving to attack Chauvin because of the Black Lives Matter movement, NBC News reported.
Floyd’s murder was captured on camera and circulated social media. The slaying sparked worldwide protests and placed the Black Lives Matter movement back at the forefront of politics and media.
Chauvin, who was convicted on charges of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter for killing Floyd, has attempted to appeal his conviction multiple times.
Last year, he asked the Supreme Court to review his conviction after Minnesota’s top court declined to hear the case. The high court denied his request.
Chauvin will continue serving his sentence in Big Springs, Texas. Bureau of Prisons lists the prison as low security with an adjacent minimum security satellite campus.
