Derek Chauvin

Derek Chauvin
Born	Derek Michael Chauvin 1976
Birthplace	Minnesota, United States
Nationality	American
Occupation	Former police officer
Employer	Minneapolis Police Department (1996–2020)
Known for	Murder of George Floyd
Education	Metropolitan State University (BS)

Derek Michael Chauvin (born 1976) is an American former police officer and convicted murderer who served with the Minneapolis Police Department for nearly two decades. On May 25, 2020, Chauvin killed George Floyd, a 46-year-old African American man, by kneeling on his neck for approximately nine minutes during an arrest in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Floyd, who was handcuffed and lying face down on the pavement, repeatedly said "I can't breathe" before becoming unresponsive. The killing, captured on bystander video that circulated globally, set off a wave of protests across the United States and around the world, galvanizing the Black Lives Matter movement and prompting widespread calls for police reform. In April 2021, Chauvin was found guilty on charges of unintentional second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter. He was subsequently sentenced to 22 and a half years in state prison. He also pleaded guilty to federal civil rights charges and to state tax evasion charges. Chauvin is currently incarcerated at FCI Big Spring, a federal correctional institution in Texas.

Early Life

Derek Michael Chauvin was born in 1976 and grew up in Minnesota. Limited publicly available information exists regarding his family background and childhood. Before entering law enforcement full-time, Chauvin served in the United States Army Reserve.

Education

Chauvin attended Dakota County Technical College before earning a Bachelor of Science degree from Metropolitan State University, a public university located in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area.

Career

Minneapolis Police Department

Chauvin joined the Minneapolis Police Department in 1996 and served as an officer for approximately 19 years. During his tenure, he received commendations, including medals for valor, but also accumulated multiple complaints filed against him. According to MPR News, Chauvin had 18 complaints on his official record with the department, though the details of most were not made public. Only two of those complaints resulted in discipline, with letters of reprimand being the most serious action taken.

Chauvin's record included involvement in several use-of-force incidents during his career. He was involved in a 2006 shooting and a separate shooting in 2008, among other incidents that drew scrutiny after Floyd's death. NBC News reported that Chauvin had been the subject of complaints over the years, raising questions about how the Minneapolis Police Department handled internal oversight and discipline of officers with repeated infractions.

In addition to his duties with the Minneapolis Police Department, Chauvin worked off-duty security jobs. He and George Floyd had both worked as security personnel at the El Nuevo Rodeo nightclub in south Minneapolis, though the degree to which they knew each other was disputed. According to KSTP, the two had overlapping security shifts at the club, with Chauvin working outside security on some nights when Floyd worked inside.

Killing of George Floyd

On May 25, 2020, Minneapolis police officers responded to a call from a convenience store clerk at Cup Foods, who reported that a customer had used a suspected counterfeit $20 bill to make a purchase. That customer was George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man.

Officers initially approached Floyd, who was seated in a vehicle near the store. After a struggle during which officers attempted to place Floyd into a squad car, Chauvin arrived on the scene and pinned Floyd to the ground. Chauvin pressed his knee against Floyd's neck while Floyd lay handcuffed and face down on the pavement. Despite Floyd's repeated pleas of "I can't breathe" and bystanders urging the officers to relent, Chauvin maintained pressure on Floyd's neck for approximately nine minutes.

Floyd became unresponsive during the restraint. Emergency medical technicians who arrived at the scene found that Floyd had no pulse. He was transported to Hennepin County Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

A bystander's video of the incident, lasting more than nine minutes, was shared widely on social media and broadcast by news outlets around the world. The footage showed Chauvin kneeling on Floyd's neck as Floyd called for his mother and repeatedly stated he could not breathe, while three other officers — Thomas Lane, J. Alexander Kueng, and Tou Thao — assisted in the arrest or stood nearby without intervening.

Law enforcement experts and medical professionals stated that the neck restraint technique used by Chauvin was dangerous and potentially lethal. USA Today reported that multiple experts characterized the prolonged application of a knee to the neck of a prone, handcuffed individual as a form of excessive force that carried significant risk of asphyxiation and death.

Termination and Arrest

On May 26, 2020, one day after Floyd's death, the Minneapolis Police Department fired Chauvin along with the three other officers involved in the incident. On May 29, 2020, Chauvin was arrested and initially charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.

On June 3, 2020, the charges against Chauvin were upgraded. The Hennepin County Attorney's Office, working with Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, added a charge of second-degree unintentional murder, while retaining the existing charges. On the same date, the three other former officers — Lane, Kueng, and Thao — were each charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter.

State Trial and Conviction

Chauvin's state trial began in March 2021 in Hennepin County District Court. He faced three charges: unintentional second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter. The trial was presided over by Judge Peter Cahill and was broadcast live, drawing sustained national and international attention. On April 20, 2021, the jury returned guilty verdicts on all three counts.

The ACLU released a statement following the verdict, noting that it marked an accountability outcome in a case that had catalyzed a national conversation about policing and racial justice. Carol Rose, executive director of the ACLU of Massachusetts, commented on the significance of the verdict.

In June 2021, Chauvin was sentenced to 22 and a half years in prison on the second-degree unintentional murder conviction, the most serious of the three charges. The sentence was above the presumptive guidelines range for the offense, with the judge citing aggravating factors including Chauvin's abuse of his position of authority and the particular cruelty of the offense.

Federal Civil Rights Case

In addition to the state prosecution, Chauvin faced federal charges. A federal grand jury indicted Chauvin on charges of violating George Floyd's civil rights by using unreasonable force. Chauvin pleaded guilty to the federal civil rights charges in December 2021 and was sentenced to 21 years in federal prison, to be served concurrently with his state sentence.

The federal indictment also included a separate charge related to an incident in September 2017 involving an unnamed juvenile, in which Chauvin was alleged to have similarly used unreasonable force by holding the juvenile by the throat and striking the juvenile with a flashlight.

Tax Evasion Charges

Chauvin also faced state charges of tax evasion. He was charged with multiple counts related to the failure to report income earned from his off-duty security work. He pleaded guilty to the tax evasion charges.

Appeals

Chauvin pursued appeals of his state murder conviction through the Minnesota court system. He appealed to the Minnesota Supreme Court, which denied review. He subsequently petitioned the Supreme Court of the United States for certiorari, but the petition was denied.

In December 2025, Chauvin filed a new motion seeking to overturn his state conviction and obtain a new trial. In the filing, Chauvin alleged prosecutorial misconduct and argued that false testimony from expert witnesses had deprived him of a fair trial.

According to Court TV, the filing specifically accused prosecutors of misconduct and argued that expert witness testimony presented during the 2021 trial was false, which Chauvin's defense contended deprived him of his constitutional right to a fair trial.

Incarceration and Prison Stabbing

Following his convictions, Chauvin was initially held in the Minnesota state prison system. He was later transferred to federal custody. In November 2023, Chauvin was stabbed by another inmate while incarcerated at a federal prison in Tucson, Arizona. He sustained serious injuries but survived the attack. Following the stabbing, Chauvin was transferred to FCI Big Spring, a federal correctional institution in Big Spring, Texas, where he remained incarcerated as of 2025.

Protests and Broader Impact

The killing of George Floyd by Chauvin on May 25, 2020, triggered one of the largest protest movements in United States history. Protests erupted in Minneapolis within hours of Floyd's death becoming public through bystander video. In the days that followed, demonstrations spread to cities across the United States and internationally, with millions of people participating in marches and rallies calling for police accountability and an end to racial injustice.

The Wall Street Journal reported that protests in Minneapolis escalated rapidly, with some incidents of property destruction and clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement. The Third Precinct police station in Minneapolis, which had jurisdiction over the area where Floyd was killed, was set on fire by protesters on May 28, 2020.

The protests reinvigorated the Black Lives Matter movement and prompted legislative action at the local, state, and federal levels. Numerous cities and states enacted or proposed police reform measures, including restrictions on the use of chokeholds and neck restraints, changes to qualified immunity protections, and increased oversight of law enforcement agencies.

The Associated Press reported that the anger over Floyd's killing spread rapidly, with protests documented in all 50 U.S. states and in numerous countries around the world. Floyd's final words, "I can't breathe," became a rallying cry for the protest movement.

Personal Life

Chauvin and George Floyd had both worked security at the El Nuevo Rodeo nightclub in south Minneapolis prior to Floyd's death. KSTP reported that the two had overlapping shifts at the venue, though the owner of the club stated that it was unclear whether the two had directly interacted.

After Chauvin's arrest, various details of his personal and financial life became subjects of public reporting. The tax evasion charges filed against him stemmed from his failure to report income earned from off-duty security work.

Chauvin was stabbed in federal prison in November 2023, sustaining serious injuries. He was subsequently transferred to FCI Big Spring in Texas, where he has continued to serve his sentence.

Recognition

During his career with the Minneapolis Police Department, Chauvin received several departmental commendations, including medals for valor. MPR News reported that he had been recognized for his service on multiple occasions. However, his record also contained 18 complaints, the vast majority of which did not result in disciplinary action.

The case became one of the most prominent criminal prosecutions of a police officer in American history. The 2021 trial drew extensive media coverage, and the guilty verdict was described by legal observers as a significant moment in the history of police accountability in the United States.

Legacy

The murder of George Floyd by Chauvin is considered a pivotal event in contemporary American history. The incident and its aftermath prompted a broad societal reckoning with issues of police use of force, systemic racism, and criminal justice reform. Floyd's death and the subsequent protests led to concrete policy changes at multiple levels of government, including the passage of local ordinances banning certain police restraint techniques and federal legislative proposals aimed at reforming policing practices.

The trial and conviction of Chauvin represented a rare instance of a police officer being held criminally accountable for the killing of a civilian. Legal analysts noted that convictions of police officers for on-duty killings had historically been uncommon in the United States, and the outcome of the Chauvin case was seen as a potential turning point in how such cases are prosecuted.

The bystander video of Floyd's death, recorded by then-17-year-old Darnella Frazier, played a central role in both the public response and the criminal prosecution. The footage provided direct visual evidence that was instrumental in securing the conviction and underscored the growing role of civilian recordings in documenting interactions between police and the public.

As of December 2025, Chauvin continued to pursue legal avenues to overturn his conviction, filing a motion for a new trial alleging prosecutorial misconduct and false expert testimony.