Who is Derek Chauvin? Minneapolis cop shown in George Floyd video has been arrested

Derek Chauvin, a former Minneapolis police officer involved in an incident that led to the death of George Floyd, was arrested Friday, according to Minnesota Public Safety Commissioner.

Chauvin is shown in a now-viral video kneeling for several minutes on the neck of Floyd, who died a short time later at an area hospital.

Chauvin was a 19-year member of the police department who has a lengthy history of complaints, according to media reports.

Complaints, shooting incidents

Seventeen complaints were filed against Chauvin while he was with the Minneapolis Police Department, but he received disciplinary action in only one, the Associated Press reported. He was reprimanded “related to the use of a squad car dashboard camera,” the AP reported.

In 2006, Chauvin was among a group of officers who shot and killed stabbing suspect Wayne Reyes, NBC News reported. It was never determined which officer fired the shot that led to Reyes’ death, the news outlet reported.

Chauvin also shot and injured a man during a domestic abuse call in 2008, the Pioneer Press reported. Chauvin fired his weapon when the suspect reached for another officer’s gun, the newspaper reported in 2008.

He was also cleared following a shooting in 2011, according to WCCO.

History with Floyd

Chauvin and Floyd were employed by the same nightclub last year in Minneapolis, KSTP reported. The two overlapped shifts at El Nuevo Rodeo Club, but it’s unclear if they crossed paths, the station said.

Floyd worked as a security guard for the bar, while Chauvin moonlighted as the bar’s off-duty police officer for almost 17 years, according to KSTP.

Maya Santamaria, the owner of the business, told the Star-Tribune the club often had “a couple dozen security guards at a time.”

Fact check

Images have circulated online that show a man resembling Chauvin on stage with Donald Trump during a Minneapolis rally. The man in the photo wearing the “Cops for Trump” photo is not Chauvin, according to the Associated Press.

A separate photo shows a man in a “Make Whites Great Again” hat that resembles Trump’s own MAGA hats. While many have said it is Chauvin in the photo, the subject of the photo was identified as Jonathan Lee Riches and not the former officer, according to the Huffington Post’s Luke O’Brien.

Aftermath of Floyd’s death

Chauvin was fired Tuesday, less than 24 hours following the death of Floyd, according to Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey. Three other officers involved in the incident were also fired.

Many key politicians and public figures have called for the arrest of Chauvin this week.

Chauvin has not made a public appearance or statement since Floyd’s death.

Chauvin was charged Friday with third-degreemurder and manslaughter, said John Harrington, commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, according to WCCO.

“We have now been able to put together the evidence that we need. Even as late as yesterday afternoon, we did not have all that we needed,” Freeman said, WCCO reported.

Freeman added, “This is by far the fastest we’ve ever charged a police officer,” according to KSTP’s Brett Hoffland.

A federal investigation into the incident is “proceeding quickly,” said Attorney General Bill Barr, according to CBS’ Paula Reid.

“The state prosecutor has been in the process of determining whether any criminal charges are appropriate under state law,” Barr stated, according to Reid. “On a separate and parallel track, the Department of Justice, including the FBI, are conducting an independent investigation to determine whether any federal civil rights laws were violated.”

Floyd’s family comments

A statement from Floyd’s family and their attorney called for the third-degree murder charge to be amended to first-degree and for the other officers to also be charged.

“We call on authorities to revise the charges to reflect the true culpability of this officer,” the statement reads. “The pain that the black community feels over this murder and what it reflects about the treatment of black people in America is raw and is spilling out onto streets across America.”

The family also implored Minneapolis and other cities across the country to fix their policies and training “that permitted this unlawful killing —and so many others — to occur.”

“For four officers to inflict this kind of unnecessary, lethal force – or watch it happen – despite outcry from witnesses who were recording the violence -- demonstrates a breakdown in training and policy by the city,” the family said.