Eight Minnesota correctional officers working at the facility where fired police officer Derek Chauvin was held following his arrest for the murder of George Floyd say they were forbidden from coming into contact with him and have reportedly filed a complaint with the state’s Department of Human Rights.
The officers — all people of color — say they were told they would be a “liability” around Chauvin because of their race, The Star Tribune of Minneapolis reported. Chauvin is the white officer who was seen on video pressing his knee into Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes as the Black man gasped for breath.
According to a copy of racial discrimination charges obtained by the newspaper, once Chauvin arrived at the Ramsey County Jail, officers of color were ordered to a separate floor. The only officers left to guard Chauvin were white and minority employees were prohibited from having contact with Chauvin, the Star Tribune reported.
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The officers of color called the order a “segretation order,” according to the Star-Tribune.
The Star Tribune also reported on May 30 that a white lieutenant was granted special access to Chauvin’s cell, where she allowed him to use her cell phone.
The Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office gave the Star-Tribune a statement from jail Superintendent Steve Lydon. The statement, however, didn’t address the allegation of the lieutenant’s access to Chauvin.
“Out of care and concern, and without the comfort of time, I made a decision to limit exposure to employees of color to a murder suspect who could potentially aggravate those feelings,” Lydon said in the statement, which was provided during an internal investigation.
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Lydon was later demoted, according to the Star Tribune, and Chauvin has since been transferred to the state’s maximum-security prison in Oak Park Heights.
Minneapolis attorney Bonnie Smith, who is representing the eight officers, told the newspaper the decision to segregate officers from Chauvin – the only ones left to guard him were white – impacted morale.
“I think they deserve to have employment decisions made based on performance and behavior,” she told the Star Tribune. “Their main goal is to make sure this never happens again.”
To NBC News, Smith said, “If he [Lydon] is really trying to protect my clients from racial trauma, he shouldn’t be segregating them on the basis of skin color,” Smith said. “He isn’t preventing racial trauma — he is creating it.”
The Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office and Smith’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment from USA TODAY on Sunday. A Ramsey County official referred questions to the sheriff’s department.
The Minnesota Department Human Rights declined comment, citing state law that doesn’t permit the agency to “release a charge of discrimination or other information regarding a case until it is closed,” according to a spokesman.
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Protests and outrage nationwide have followed Floyd’s death on Memorial Day. Officers, including Chauvin, had responded that day to a call about a man allegedly trying to use a counterfeit $20 bill.
Chauvin was charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter and Floyd’s death has been ruled a homicide. The other three officers who were present when Floyd died have also been charged with aiding and abetting.
Source Article from https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/06/21/derek-chauvin-white-officers-complaint-george-floyd/3233655001/
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