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Derek Chauvin stabbed in prison, AP source says
The attack happened at the Federal Correctional Institution, Tucson, a medium-security prison that has been plagued by security lapses and staffing shortages.
ARIZONA, USA — Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer convicted of murdering George Floyd, was stabbed by another inmate and seriously injured Friday at a federal prison in Arizona, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press.
The attack happened at the Federal Correctional Institution, Tucson, a medium-security prison that has been plagued by security lapses and staffing shortages. The person was not authorized to publicly discuss details of the attack and spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity.
The Bureau of Prisons confirmed that an incarcerated person was assaulted at FCI Tucson at around 12:30 p.m. local time Friday. In a statement, the agency said responding employees contained the incident and performed “life-saving measures” before the inmate, who it did not name, was taken to a hospital for further treatment and evaluation.
“Any attack against any individual is not a cause for celebration at all. And it’s kind of a sobering reminder of where we’ve been as a profession and all the work we still have to do,” said Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara. “There are so many very open wounds that, our community, our residents are still suffering through. Open wounds that our police officers are still suffering through, and this brings all of that to the forefront.”
O’Hara said he was not to able to share additional details about what happened with Chauvin but he said there is still a lot of healing to be done here in Minnesota.
“There’s just so much hurt and so much hate out there, too, that it makes it so difficult to try to connect to heal, to try to bring people together to heal,” O’Hara said.
No employees were injured and the FBI was notified, the Bureau of Prisons said. Visiting at the facility, which has about 380 inmates, has been suspended.
Messages seeking comment were left with Chauvin’s lawyers and the FBI.
Chauvin’s stabbing is the second high-profile attack on a federal prisoner in the last five months. In July, disgraced sports doctor Larry Nassar was stabbed by a fellow inmate at a federal penitentiary in Florida.
It is also the second major incident at the Tucson federal prison in a little over a year. In November 2022, an inmate at the facility’s low-security prison camp pulled out a gun and attempted to shoot a visitor in the head. The weapon, which the inmate shouldn’t have had, misfired and no one was hurt.
Chauvin, 47, was sent to FCI Tucson from a maximum-security Minnesota state prison in August 2022 to simultaneously serve a 21-year federal sentence for violating Floyd’s civil rights and a 22½-year state sentence for second-degree murder.
Chauvin’s lawyer, Eric Nelson, had advocated for keeping him out of general population and away from other inmates, anticipating he’d be a target. In Minnesota, Chauvin was mainly kept in solitary confinement “largely for his own protection,” Nelson wrote in court papers last year.
Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected Chauvin’s appeal of his murder conviction. Separately, Chauvin is making a longshot bid to overturn his federal guilty plea, claiming new evidence shows he didn’t cause Floyd’s death.
Floyd, who was Black, died on May 25, 2020, after Chauvin, who is white, pressed a knee on his neck for 9½ minutes on the street outside a convenience store where Floyd was suspected of trying to pass a counterfeit $20 bill.
Bystander video captured Floyd’s fading cries of “I can’t breathe.” His death touched off protests worldwide, some of which turned violent, and forced a national reckoning with police brutality and racism.
Three other former officers who were at the scene received lesser state and federal sentences for their roles in Floyd’s death.
Chauvin’s stabbing comes as the federal Bureau of Prisons has faced increased scrutiny in recent years following wealthy financier Jeffrey Epstein’s jail suicide in 2019. It’s another example of the agency’s inability to keep even its highest profile prisoners safe after Nassar’s stabbing and “Unabomber” Ted Kaczynski’s suicide at a federal medical center in June.
An ongoing AP investigation has uncovered deep, previously unreported flaws within the Bureau of Prisons, the Justice Department’s largest law enforcement agency with more than 30,000 employees, 158,000 inmates and an annual budget of about $8 billion.
AP reporting has revealed rampant sexual abuse and other criminal conduct by staff, dozens of escapes, chronic violence, deaths and severe staffing shortages that have hampered responses to emergencies, including inmate assaults and suicides.
Bureau of Prisons Director Colette Peters was brought in last year to reform the crisis-plagued agency. She vowed to change archaic hiring practices and bring new transparency, while emphasizing that the agency’s mission is “to make good neighbors, not good inmates.”
Testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee in September, Peters touted steps she’d taken to overhaul problematic prisons and beef up internal affairs investigations. This month, she told a House Judiciary subcommittee that hiring had improved and that new hires were outpacing retirements and other departures.
But Peters has also irritated lawmakers who said she reneged on her promise to be candid and open with them. In September, senators scolded her for forcing them to wait more than a year for answers to written questions and for claiming that she couldn’t answer basic questions about agency operations, like how many correctional officers are on staff.
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Overall, the MAC says it expects a six percent increase in travelers compared to last year.
ST PAUL, Minn. — Holiday travel is ramping up with the holidays next week, as thousands hit the skies out of MSP to other parts of the world.
The Metropolitan Airport Commission (MAC) says they expect tens of thousands of travelers to pass through security checkpoints each day, with the busiest day before Christmas falling on Friday.
The day after Christmas, Dec. 26, is expected to be the busiest day overall, with nearly 50,000 travelers going through security checkpoints.
Overall, the MAC says it expects a six percent increase in travelers compared to last year.
“It seems like a lot of people are traveling, but not me at this time,” Jose Acuña said. “I’m here to pick up some of my family members from Costa Rica.”
Count Acuña as one of the lucky ones, not having to brave holiday travel this time around.
“A couple of them have never seen the snow!” he said.
Their flight seemed to make it on time, unlike hundreds of others. According to the MSP website, over 250 flights were delayed or cancelled today. Close to 600 were on time.
“Just go with the flow. Sometimes we are too rigid making plans,” Acuña said. “But things don’t happen that way, and we just have to, you know, enjoy it.”
That advice seems apt this time of year – and especially for two travelers we spoke to Saturday night.
“I figured if my daughter vouched for her, and I like her son, because I’ve met her son,” Linda McRae said.
“God bless her for that!” Chris Carlin said.
McRae and Carlin met for the first time in person Saturday for their flight to Tennessee – their kids live together.
Their advice to making it through this crazy holiday travel season? Just keep in mind that it’s never that serious.
“Listen, I was more stressed at home getting my house ready for somebody to come in and take care of my cat!” Carlin said. “This is the easy part right here!”
John’s display draws hundreds of people every night.
SAINT PAUL, Minn. — We’re all familiar with the lore of Santa’s elves.
But at the head of this workshop in St. Paul is John Pihaly. He has collected 30 Dayton’s Christmas Display Characters from 10 of the old shows and restored them to recreate those iconic scenes.
“My wife was quite shocked,” laughed Pihaly. “I brought home 24 characters originally, and had them all set up here in the garage. I said, Honey, look what I did!”
“I always laugh, and everyone always says, what did you contribute?” Lindsay, his wife, said. “And all I can say is, I lived with these elves for the past year, strewn throughout the house. That was my contribution!”
But lucky for John, Lindsay has warmed up to the animatronics and covered up porch which houses the displays.
“He wanted to bring the magic alive, not just for us, but for an entire community,” he said.
Pihaly had smaller displays with a handful of figures in 2020 and 2021, but for the past few years he has dedicated hours into this display. He has consulted other collectors, and even former Dayton employees on how to perfect the art of restoring the figures.
He also had to create all the sets from scratch.
“The stories we share are all very similar,” he said. “It was a magical place to go and be.”
Every night he gets asked if folks can donate to him and his work, but he directs them to fundraising efforts for Toys for Tots and the Salvation Army. He has a box for donations in his yard.
Hundreds of people visit his home at 1887 W Saunders Ave. in St. Paul every night. The display will be alive from 5 to 9 p.m. every evening until Christmas Day.
The National Retail Federation expects 157 million consumers to shop on the Saturday before Christmas.
BLOOMINGTON, Minn. — On the Saturday before Christmas, many admitting to procrastination dashed to find their last-minute gifts.
“This was the only day we had,” Carol Schindler said at the Mall of America.
Dave Lafond embraced the holiday hustle as a family tradition. “It’s fun and chaotic,” he said.
They’re two among the 157 millions consumers around the country expected to shop on this Saturday alone, according to the National Retail Federation.
“With a shortened window between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year, consumers will be hitting stores and shopping online to get those final gifts and to take advantage of special promotions and deals,” NRF Vice President of Industry and Consumer Insights Katherine Cullen said in a press release.
With four days left until Christmas, anything is possible if shoppers walk fast enough. Hundreds of gift-getters spirited fast passed Douglas Ness who stopped for a much-needed Cinnabon break.
“I’ve got all mine done,” he said. His granddaughter, meanwhile, had yet to complete her shopping.
Until his wife passed away three years ago, Ness said he would shop for the holidays with her. “One of the first things we did is get these Cinnabons over here.”
His holiday tradition continues with his granddaughter. The cinnamon treat comes with crossing presents off her Christmas list, finally.
