The Minneapolis police officer who knelt on George Floyd’s neck had 18 previous complaints against him – police department

Last updated on September 11th, 2021 at 02:47 pm

The former Minneapolis police officer seen in a video with his knee on George Floyd’s neck had 18 prior complaints filed against him with the Minneapolis Police Department’s Internal Affairs, according to the police department.

It’s unclear what the internal affairs complaints against the officer, Derek Chauvin, were for. MPD did not provide additional details.

Chauvin was fired this week, along with three other MPD officers who were present when Chauvin knelt on Floyd’s neck. Police have said they were responding to an alleged forgery at a corner store.

Floyd, a 46-year-old black man who was unarmed and handcuffed, pleaded that he could not breathe. He was soon after declared dead at a nearby hospital, according to authorities.

Floyd’s death and video of the incident have sparked widespread anger, destructive protests and calls for the officers involved to face criminal charges.

Only two of the 18 complaints against Chauvin were “closed with discipline,” according to a MPD internal affairs public summary. In both cases, the “discipline issued” column indicated that a letter of reprimand had been issued in response.

Chauvin was not the only officer on the scene that day with a history of complaints against him.

Former officer Tou Thao had six complaints filed with internal affairs, one of which was still open, according to the public summary released Thursday. The other five complaints had been closed without discipline.

The two other officers involved had no complaints filed against them, per MPD internal affairs.

(CNN)