Derek Chauvin Has Left Trauma Care and Returned to Prison Custody for 'Follow-Up Care,' Says Lawyer
The former police officer's "medical condition has improved" his lawyer states, after his stabbing in an Arizona prison on Nov. 24
Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin has returned to prison custody following an improved medical condition after his recent stabbing in an Arizona prison, his lawyer confirms.
Chauvin’s attorney Gregory M. Erickson says in a statement to PEOPLE, “Derek’s family confirmed that his medical condition has improved to the extent that he has been removed from the trauma care facility at a local Tucson hospital and returned to prison custody for his follow-up care.”
Erickson adds that Chauvin’s family “is very concerned about the facility’s capacity to protect Derek from further harm” and that “they remain unassured that any changes have been made to the faulty procedures that allowed Derek’s attack to occur in the first place.”
Chauvin, 47, was stabbed 22 times on Nov. 24 in the Federal Correctional Institution in Tucson. He was “transported to a local hospital for further treatment and evaluation” after the stabbing, the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) stated at the time.
Related: Derek Chauvin Was Stabbed 22 Times by Fellow Inmate on Black Friday: Prosecutors
Inmate John Tursack has since been charged with attempted murder of Chauvin, along with assault with intent to commit murder, assault with a dangerous weapon, and assault resulting in serious bodily injury to Chauvin, who is serving a 22-year sentence over the murder of George Floyd.
According to court documents, per CNN, Tursack, 52, stabbed Chauvin with an “improvised knife” after planning the attack for months.
The stabbing occurred at approximately 12:30 p.m. local time as Chauvin was in the law library at the Federal Correctional Institution in Tucson “causing serious bodily injury,” the federal complaint stated, per the outlet.
Erickson says in his statement that Chauvin confirmed that “the facts contained in the charging document are accurate” to his family.
Related: Derek Chauvin Sentenced to 22.5 Years in Prison for Murder of George Floyd
Per the criminal complaint, as reported by the Associated Press, Tursack told investigators that he carried out the attack on Chauvin on Black Friday, in symbolic connection to the Black Lives Matter movement and the "Black Hand" symbol associated with the Mexican Mafia gang.
Authorities initially said of Chauvin that he was “expected to survive” the attack.
Minneapolis police chief Brian O’Hara and a spokesperson for state attorney general Keith Ellison’s office told PEOPLE in statements that Chauvin was on the mend.
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In July 2022, Chauvin pleaded guilty to federal charges of violating the civil rights of George Floyd, a Black Minneapolis man, after he pressed his knee on his neck, killing him, during an arrest on May 25, 2020.
The former police officer was later convicted of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and manslaughter in the killing of Floyd, and sentenced to more than 20 years in prison.
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