Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer convicted of murdering George Floyd in May 2020, which set off a wave of unrest and rioting across the U.S., was stabbed last week in federal prison and reportedly sustained serious injuries.
The incident took place just days after the Supreme Court rejected Chauvin’s appeal of his second-degree murder charge. It also happened after the ex-cop spoke publicly for the first time since his conviction for a documentary, “The Fall of Minneapolis,” in which he described his trial as a “sham.”
So far, however, not much information about the attack has been released and his own mother says she, too, has been completely kept in the dark, finding out about the assault through media reports like everyone else.
“How the hell do these news agencies know and his own mother doesn’t even know? And that [prison] has an emergency contact number [for me],” his mother, Carolyn Pawlenty, told Alpha News.
“I can’t even think what to say. I haven’t been to bed and made a path in my kitchen and living room floor by pacing,” said a “worried” Pawlenty.
She is not alone. Chauvin’s attorneys found out about the attack the same way, and have yet to hear back from the Bureau of Prisons about the incident.
Gregory M. Erickson, an attorney for Chauvin, blasted the lack of transparency.
“As an outsider, I view this lack of communication with his attorneys and family members as completely outrageous,” he told the AP. “It appears to be indicative of a poorly run facility and indicates how Derek’s assault was allowed to happen.”
Erickson said the prison refused to speak with him every time he tried calling.
“It’s unbelievably unprofessional that no one from the prison has reached out to his parents,” he told CNN.
His lawyer Greg Erickson also only learned about the assault through the media and has tried to contact prison officials to confirm the news, only to be rebuffed.
— Miranda Devine (@mirandadevine) November 26, 2023
“I’ve called the prison seven times. They’ve refused to speak to me seven times,” Erickson told CNN.
Erickson said…