A former Minneapolis police officer jailed over the murder of George Floyd is “expected to survive” after being stabbed by a fellow inmate, according to officials.
Derek Chauvin was “seriously injured” during the attack in a prison in Arizona on Friday, according to a law enforcement source familiar with the incident.
Prison officials said on Friday that staff had performed “life-saving” measures on an inmate at the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) in Tucson – though did not name Chauvin.
Brian Evans, a spokesman for the Minnesota attorney general’s office, said on Saturday that they had “heard that he (Chauvin) is expected to survive”.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said he was “sad to hear” that Chauvin had been the “target of violence” inside prison.
“He was duly convicted of his crimes and, like any incarcerated individual, he should be able to serve his sentence without fear of retaliation or violence,” he said in a statement.
Chauvin, 47, was sent to FCI Tucson from a maximum-security Minnesota state prison in August 2022 to serve a 22-year sentence for the second-degree murder of Mr Floyd.
He was also sentenced to a concurrent 21-year sentence for violating Mr Floyd’s civil rights.
Derek Chauvin during his trial
Mr Floyd, 46, died in May 2020 after Chauvin pressed a knee on his neck for more than nine minutes on the street outside a convenience store in Minneapolis, where he was suspected of trying to pass counterfeit money.
The murder, which was recorded on a mobile phone by a passer-by, who filmed Mr Floyd saying “I can’t breathe” multiple times, sparked protests against racism and police brutality across the world.
Three other former officers received lesser state and federal sentences for their roles in Mr Floyd’s death.
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Following news of Chauvin’s stabbing, Mr Floyd’s brother, Terrence Floyd, said he “did not really have any feelings about it”.
“I’m not going to give my energy towards anything that happens within those four walls – because my energy went towards getting him in those four walls,” he told the Associated Press.
“Whatever happens in those four walls, I don’t really have any feelings about it.”
The US Bureau of Prisons confirmed an inmate had been assaulted at the FCI in Tucson at around 12.30pm local time on Friday.
In a statement, the agency said prison staff performed “life-saving measures”, before the inmate, who it did not name, was taken to a hospital for further treatment and evaluation.
The FBI said it was aware of an assault at the prison – though it also did not name anyone involved.
Last week, the US Supreme Court rejected Chauvin’s appeal against his state murder conviction.
Separately, he is attempting to overturn his guilty plea in the federal civil rights case, claiming new evidence shows he did not cause Mr Floyd’s death.