Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin who caused the death of handcuffed black suspect, George Floyd dubious history: subject of 20 complaints, 3 police shootings.
A white Minneapolis cop who who was captured on video kneeling on the neck of handcuffed black suspect, George Floyd before losing consciousness and dying has been involved in a myriad of episodes over his 19 year career which puts into question the police officer’s professionalism, ethics and ongoing use of police brutality and by extension that of the entire Minneapolis Police Department.
In newly released reports, Officer Derek Michael Chauvin, 44 is depicted as being the subject of nearly 20 complaints along with two letters of reprimand filed against him according to reports.
In 2006, Derek Chauvin, 44, was one of six officers who responded to a stabbing, according to Insider, which cited a 2016 report from the Minnesota activist group Communities United Against Police Brutality.
Wayne Reyes, who was suspected of stabbing his girlfriend and a friend, was shot dead when he pointed a shotgun at the officers from his truck, according to the report.
It was unclear during the initial probe which officers fired their weapons, NBC News reported.
Justice? Ex MPD cop charged w/ murder, manslaughter in George Floyd death
‘Please let me stand’ George Floyd new video shows 3 Minneapolis cops over him
Last night nearly 100 police officers were protecting Ex-Minn. Cop Derek Chauvin’s home. It’s amazing how all those cops stepped up to defend the property of a killer cop, too bad none of the four cowardly ex-cops stepped up to defend George Floyd. #GeorgeFloyd #ThursdayThoughts pic.twitter.com/B8mekKPxC3
— RealTimBlack (@RealTimBlack) May 28, 2020
Following protocol, all of the officers — including Chauvin — were put on paid leave during the probe. A grand jury later decided the use of force was justified the Star Tribune reports.
And it continues.
In 2006, Chauvin and seven other cops were named in an unrelated federal lawsuit filed by an inmate at the Minnesota Correctional Facility. The case was dismissed without prejudice the following year, NBC News reported.
In 2008, Chauvin responded to a 911 domestic assault call,according to the Pioneer Press of St. Paul.
EXCLUSIVE: We spoke to Ira Latrell Toles, 33, who was shot by Derek Chauvin in 2008, the officer at the center of George Floyd’s death.
Ira Latrell Toles tells us Derek Chauvin shot him at close range during a domestic call in 2008. https://t.co/IuUHBr2wHN
— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) May 28, 2020
Officer Derek Chauvin: just a habit of being at the wrong place, wrong time?
Chauvin and his partner entered the home, where they confronted Ira Latrell Toles, 21, who was holed up in a bathroom. He tried to flee when Chauvin got inside and grabbed at the cop’s gun.
The officer fired twice, hitting Toles in the stomach, but he survived WFMJ reports. Chauvin and his unnamed partner were placed on paid leave during an investigation, also according to standard protocol.
Toles who ultimately pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge claimed at the time Chauvin, ‘tried to kill me in that bathroom.’
In 2011, the officer who killed George Floyd also killed an Alaska Native man. Leroy Martinez, he was 23 years old and had his hands up. He had his hands up.
— iceagebaby (@charitieropati) May 28, 2020
17 complaints filed: 16 complaints closed with no discipline.
Earlier in 2008, Chauvin was awarded a medal of valor for ‘his response in an incident involving a man armed with a gun,’ the Pioneer Press reported, and was recognized again in 2009 by the department.
Online city records also show that 17 complaints have been filed against Chauvin. Sixteen complaints were closed with no discipline. The remaining complaint generated two letters of reprimand, with one apparently related to the use of a squad car dashboard camera. The records don’t include any details on the substance of the complaints.
And it continues.
In 2011, Chauvin was again placed on temporary leave after he responded with other officers to reports of a shooting.
Leroy Martinez, 23, an Alaskan native was spotted running from the scene while brandishing a handgun and the officers gave chase, according to local reports. Terry Nutter, one of the cops, shot Martinez.
An eyewitness challenged the police’s claim that Martinez was holding a gun when he was shot, according to the Star Tribune.
Derek Chauvin was involved in shootings of Wayne Reyes (Native American, died) in 2006, Ira Latrell Toles (Black, survived) in 2008, & Leroy Martinez (Native American, survived) in 2011. Returned to duty & no disciple every time. Now in 2020 he has murdered George Floyd (black).
— Kaley (@yang_bo_dudnik) May 28, 2020
Subject of ongoing negative reviews but still loved by the police force
Delora Iceman told the Star Tribune that Martinez had dropped the pistol and held his arms in the air before cops gunned him down.
Chauvin, who did not fire his gun, and the other cops were placed on a standard three-day administrative leave during the investigation.
Then-Police Chief Tim Dolan later said the officers, including Chauvin, ‘acted appropriately and courageously,’ NBC News reported.
And it continues folks.
Chauvin also has been the subject of multiple internal complaints, according to a database compiled by Communities United Against Police Brutality.
In three reviews from the Civilian Review Authority, he was found to have used ‘demeaning tone,’ ‘derogatory language’ and ‘language – other,’ according to Insider.
The veteran cop has also been the subject of seven reviews by the local Office of Police Conduct — all of which conclude: ‘Closed — No discipline.’
No other details were available on any of the cases.
But in case one has arrived at the conclusion that Officer Derek Chauvin is all bad news or at least a dubious suspect cop, particularly if one happens to be a minority- think again, as Chauvin’s former ‘minority’ wife told in a 2018 expose below.
Badge numbers:
1- Derek Chauvin #1087
2- Tou Thao #7162
Minneapolis Police Department 350 South 5th Street, Room 130, Minneapolis, MN 55415-1389
[email protected] [email protected]
612-673-3000#BlackLivesMatter
these are fucking murderers. pic.twitter.com/TxJ6EWhras— hayley🦋🧚🏻♀️✨☁️💞 (@blohshbitch) May 28, 2020
Derek Chauvin ex minority wife still has a soft thing for him
A much different side of Chauvin was portrayed in a 2018 newspaper profile of his wife, Kellie, a Laotian refugee who became the first Hmong Mrs. Minnesota. She told the St. Paul Pioneer Press that they met when he dropped off a suspect at a Minneapolis hospital where she worked.
‘Under that uniform, he’s just a softie,’ she told the outlet. ‘He’s such a gentleman. He still opens the door for me, still puts my coat on for me. After my divorce, I had a list of must-haves if I were ever to be in a relationship, and he fit all of them.’
Meanwhile, another officer seen in the Floyd video — Tou Thao — also has a record of similar incidents and settled an excessive-force lawsuit out of court in 2017, according to Insider.
Lamar Ferguson was walking with a pregnant woman in 2014 when Thao and his partner Robert Thunder stopped and searched them, according to the lawsuit.
The cops then began beating Ferguson, according to the legal filings.
Ferguson was subjected to ‘punches, kicks, and knees to the face and body’ while ‘defenseless and handcuffed’ — and suffered ‘broken teeth as well as other bruising and trauma.’
Thao said in a deposition that he arrested Ferguson because of an outstanding warrant, adding that he punched the suspect when one of his hands slipped out of the handcuffs and he resisted arrest, according to a Star Tribune report.
Chauvin, Thao and the two other officers involved in Floyd’s arrest have been fired. Calls are now being made to bring murder charges against Chauvin following the death of George Floyd as Minneapolis bristles with yet another instance of unrelenting use of police brutality – a seemingly endemic state of affairs throughout the US.
