Photo Courtesy of Say Cheese / X
Friday, Nov. 24, turned into a mighty good Black Friday for the Black community once news broke about Derek Chauvin, 47, getting stabbed by another inmate at an Arizona prison.
According to AP News, the former Minneapolis police officer was seriously injured and being treated in a hospital.
The stabbing occurred at the Federal Correctional Institution, Tucson, on Friday around 12:30 p.m. local time. The Bureau of Prisons confirmed the incident, adding responding employees took control of the situation and performed “life-saving measures” on Chauvin before transporting him to a hospital, where he was treated for his injuries and evaluated.
It’s unclear what led to the incident.
Chauvin caused a stir when he murdered George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, on May 25, 2020.
Not only did his killing of Floyd spark worldwide protests and anger the Black community, but it was how Chauvin killed him, making the summer of 2020 the peak of the Black Lives Matter movement.
On the evening of May 25, 2020, Floyd reportedly used a counterfeit $20 bill to purchase cigarettes from a grocery store called Cup Foods.
Notably, Floyd, a Houston, Texas native, was reportedly a regular at the store and never caused trouble, according to the store owner, Mike Abumayyaleh, who wasn’t there during the incident.
A teenage employee followed protocol and reported it to the police.
Body cam footage showed a struggle to apprehend Floyd and get him in the back of the squad car. However, it was uncalled for Chauvin to restrain the 46-year-old by placing his knee on his neck for nine minutes and 29 seconds after Floyd stiffened and fell to the ground.
A year later, a Minnesota jury found the problematic ex-officer guilty of all charges against him: unintentional second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.
He was sentenced to over 20 years in prison.