Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer charged with second degree murder after the death of George Floyd in custody last mon...
Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer charged with second degree murder after the death of George Floyd in custody last month, was reportedly negotiating with prosecutors over a possible guilty plea deal in the days leading up to his arrest.
The embattled cop, 44, was said to be discussing the specifics of the deal four days after Floyd’s death on Memorial Day. He was arrested a day later after those talks broke down, Fox 9 News reported.
Sources told the network the deal would’ve been ‘universal’, and would’ve included state murder charges as well as federal civil rights charges.
The revelation comes as David Pinney, who once worked as a security guard with Floyd and Chauvin at a Minneapolis nightclub, claims the pair would regularly ‘bump heads’, which had a lot to do with the cop being 'extremely aggressive'.
David Pinney (pictured), who worked with George Floyd and Derek Chauvin at a nightclub in Minneapolis said the two men 'bumped heads', which had a lot to do with the cop being 'extremely aggressive'
Chauvin has spent the last week segregated from the general population at the Minnesota state prison in Oak Park Heights, after being transferred several times
The embattled cop, 44, was said to be ironing out the details of the deal four days after Floyd’s death on Memorial Day and one day before he was arrested
Derek Chauvin, a 44-year-old white cop who has since been arrested, was seen in footage kneeling on Floyd's neck for eight minutes as the victim repeatedly said he could not breathe (incident pictured)
The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office has since confirmed the existence of Chauvin’s plea talks in a statement.
‘There were early negotiations with [Chauvin], between the Hennepin County Attorney's Office, and the U.S. Attorney,’ said Hennepin County Attorney spokesperson Chuck Laszewski. ‘Ultimately, those negotiations failed.’
How and why the deal fell apart, in addition to what offer was specifically on the table, remains unclear.
Talks were ongoing on May 28 and even delayed a previously announced press conference that day by nearly two hours.
‘I thought we would have another development to talk to you about, but we don’t,’ said U.S. Attorney Erica MacDonald during the press briefing outside of the FBI’s Brooklyn Center Headquarters
By the next day, Friday, May 29, Chauvin was arrested by police and the Hennepin County Attorney had charged him with third-degree murder.
Just under 48 hours later, under intense public scrutiny, Hennepin County asked Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison to join the prosecution.
The following day, on June 1, Chauvin had been scheduled to make an initial court appearance, but it was rescheduled at short notice.
Then last Wednesday Chauvin’s charge was upgraded to second-degree murder, and the three other officers involved in the arrest of Floyd - J Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao - were charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder.
Chauvin made his first appearance in court via video link on Monday, during a preliminary hearing in which his bail was set at $1.25 million.
He has spent the last week segregated from the general population at the Minnesota state prison in Oak Park Heights, after being transferred several times.
The embattled cop is currently being held in the state prison's Administrative Control Unit (ACU)
Chauvin been held under suicide watch at the facility since being moved from Hennepin County Jail on June 1
His next court appearance is set for June 29. His bail had initially been set at $500,000, before being increased to $1.25M on Monday
In the 15 days since Floyd's death and his arrest, Chauvin has been swiftly off-loaded by his wife of ten years, former Minneapolis pageant queen Kellie, 45, who filed for divorce the day before charges were brought
On Tuesday, David Pinney, who worked with Floyd and Chauvin as a security guard at El Nuevo Rodeo last year, painted Chauvin as an 'aggressive' character in an interview with CBS.
Pinney told the netowrk that, prior to the fatal arrest, the men knew each other well well and regularly 'bumped heads' when they were working together.
'It has a lot to do with Derek being extremely aggressive within the club with some of the patrons, which was an issue,' Pinney said.
According to Pinney, the two men knew each other 'pretty well' and that Chauvin likely knew who Floyd was when he arrested him on May 25.
The club's owner, Maya Santamaria, confirmed last month that the two men worked security at the establishment.
'Chauvin was our off-duty police for almost the entirety of the 17 years that we were open,' Santamaria told KSTP-TV in May.
When CBS interviewed Santamaria, she explained that she believed Chauvin was 'afraid and intimidated' by black people in general.
According to Santamaria, Chauvin had a tendency to flash his temper and overreact to situations.
'He sometimes had a real short fuse and he seemed afraid,' she said.
'When there was an altercation he always resorted to pulling out his mace and pepper spraying everybody right away, even if I felt it was unwarranted.'
Floyd had also worked as a bouncer for a nearby restaurant, the Conga Latin Bistro.
According to Pinney, the two men knew each other 'pretty well' and that Chauvin likely knew who Floyd (pictured) was when he arrested him on May 25
Maya Santamaria (above) said Chauvin worked as an off-duty police officer for 17 years
The club which Santamaria owned for some two decades was sold recently.
The building, which is without power due to ongoing protests, is just two blocks east of the Minneapolis Police Department's Third Precinct, which was set on fire by rioters as officers fled the building in their squad cars.
More than two weeks after Floyd took his last breath under the knee of Chauvin, the 46-year-old 'gentle giant' was laid to rest alongside his mother in Houston on Tuesday.
Floyd's death launched a nationwide call for defunding the police and prompted Black Lives Matter protests globally.
He was laid to rest at the Houston Memorial Gardens in Pearland next to his mother, Lacendra, who he called out for when he was struggling for air just before he died.
Earlier on Tuesday, family, friends, and guests packed the Fountain of Praise Church as they said their last goodbyes during an emotional service.
The hearse carrying Floyd's body followed by his family headed to the cemetery Tuesday afternoon with a police escort.
Members of the New Black Panther group were seen on site standing guard surrounding Floyd's hearse as the procession exited the church.
Floyd traveled the last mile of his journey to his resting place in a horse drawn carriage.
Derek Chauvin spoke clearly though his voice sounded hollow across the video link audio during his Monday court appearance (court sketch above). He was handcuffed and wore a mask dressed in prison regulation orange
In the 15 days since Floyd's death and his arrest, Chauvin has been swiftly off-loaded by his wife of ten years, former Minneapolis pageant queen Kellie, 45, who filed for divorce the day before charges were brought.
His first court appearance came exactly two weeks after video of Floyd's death. It had been due to take place last week, but was pushed back due to security concerns.
Those same concerns led Chauvin, 44, to not appear in person but via video link from the maximum security Minnesota Correctional Facility in Oak Park Heights where Chauvin has been held under suicide watch since being moved from Hennepin County Jail on June 1.
During the hearing, he spoke only to confirm his name, address and date of birth and when asked if he had any firearms still in his possession. His next court appearance is set for June 29.
When CBS interviewed Santamaria, she explained that she believed Chauvin was 'afraid and intimidated' by black people in general. Her club El Nuevo Rodeo is pictured
Meanwhile two of the three officers who looked on as Floyd died moved with similar alacrity, to place all blame firmly on the 20-year-old veteran at their own first appearances last Thursday.
J Alexander Kueng, 26, of Plymouth; Thomas Lane, 37, of St Paul; and Tou Thao, 34, of Coon Rapids, appeared in Hennepin County District Court on June 4.
They are charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder – unintentional – while committing a felony and aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter, culpable negligence creating unreasonable risk.
Bail for all three was set at $1 million. Thao's attorney made little objection.
But attorneys for Kueng and Lane kicked back at this and the charges levelled against their clients arguing that both were rookies - Kueng was on his third shift and Lane was just four days on the force – who had no sway over Chauvin, a far more senior officer.
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