Following reports that Derek Chauvin was attacked inside a federal prison, his attorney said that the former Minneapolis police officer is improving.
Last week, Chauvin was stabbed by another inmate at the Federal Correctional Institution in Tucson, Arizona. Chauvin’s attorney, Greg Erickson, told CNN he got in touch with an official at the Federal Bureau of Prisons who didn’t give much information but “intimated that his condition is decent and improving, and intimated he will be contacting his family members once he is able to.”
Erickson added that the incident remains under investigation, and the official said “they weren’t going to give out any details.”
The Bureau of Prisons reportedly said an inmate was attacked on Friday around noon, and employees had to perform “life-saving measures” before the inmate was transported to a hospital. According to CNN, Erickson said officials didn’t initially notify Chauvin’s family when the incident happened.
“For privacy, safety, and security reasons, we do not discuss the conditions of confinement for any individual in our custody, including medical status,” the bureau said in a statement to the outlet. “Additionally, we do not comment on matters related to investigations.”
Erickson previously highlighted that he believes that the nature of Chauvin’s case makes him a target. Speaking to CNN, the attorney noted that he thinks the agency is also trying to prevent the story from making headlines. As Chauvin’s sentence continues, he said the family “needs to be provided some sort of assurances that what happened can’t happen again.”
Chauvin is currently housed at the medium-security federal facility serving a 21-year sentence, concurrently with a 22.5-year term in connection to the murder of George Floyd, a Black man, in May 2020. The ex-cop was captured on video kneeling on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes, sparking a call for justice. In the footage, Floyd was heard saying, “I can’t breathe,” which became a rallying cry during protests worldwide against racism and police brutality.
