The Department of Justice is reportedly considering charging Derek Chauvin over a 2017 incident that came to light while prosecutors were preparing their case against the former Minneapolis officer convicted Tuesday of killing George Floyd.
ABC News reports that the DOJ’s investigation centers on footage of Chauvin striking a Black teenager so hard that the 14-year-old required stitches, then kneeling on that teen for almost 17 minutes — mostly putting pressure on his upper back — while the child complained he couldn’t breathe.
Chauvin kept his knee on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes before the unarmed 46-year-old Black man died last year after also begging the veteran officer for air.
A state prosecutor wrote of the 2017 incident that “videos show a far more violent and forceful treatment of this child than Chauvin describes in his report,” yet no action was taken against the now 45-year-old former cop. ABC said feds are now considering pressing charges against Chauvin for the 2017 event, who is awaiting sentencing for Floyd’s murder, based on evidence including videos from body cameras.
The Minneapolis Police Department was reportedly made aware of the DOJ investigation and has pledged its cooperation.
The alleged abuse occurred when a Minneapolis mom called police claiming her son and daughter were attacking her. Prosecutors said Chauvin “applied a neck restraint, causing the child to lose consciousness and go to the ground.”
State prosecutors tried in vain to introduce footage from the 2017 confrontation between Chauvin and the teenager into evidence in the Floyd case. The former officer’s defense attorney argued the two situations were unrelated.
The DOJ is also said to be weighing charges against Chauvin with regards to Floyd’s death.
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