Inmate claims attacking Derek Chauvin was symbolic of the Black Lives Matter movement
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Details about a prison attack that left ex-Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in critical condition after Thanksgiving have begun to surface. This week, inmate John Turscak was charged with attempted murder, assault with intent to commit murder, assault with a dangerous weapon and assault resulting in serious bodily injury.
The former FBI informant is accused of stabbing Chauvin 22 times with a makeshift knife in the library at the Federal Correctional Institution in Tuscon, a medium-security facility, on Nov. 24. According to The Associated Press, Turscak initially told officers he targeted the former cop and would have killed him if guards had not intervened so quickly. He reportedly denied that statement after his Miranda rights were read to him.
“At that time, Turscak denied wanting to kill D.C. However, Turscak stated that he had been thinking about assaulting D.C. for approximately one month because D.C. is a high-profile inmate. Turscak stated he saw an opportunity to assault D.C. in the law library,” read an official complaint obtained by ABC News. It continued, “Turscak stated that his attack of D.C. on Black Friday was symbolic with the Black Lives Matter movement and the Mexican Mafia criminal organization. D.C. received emergency medical treatment for his injuries at a local hospital.”
Chauvin was convicted of killing George Floyd by kneeling on his neck and back, restricting his ability to breathe, for nine minutes during an arrest in May 2020. Floyd was suspected of using a counterfeit $20 bill at the time of the encounter.
His highly publicized trial ended in April 2021 with a conviction. Chauvin was later sentenced to 22 and a half years in prison for his role in Floyd’s death. Three other officers, who responded to the scene but failed to intervene as Floyd pleaded, “I can’t breathe,” received lesser sentences related to the death in state and federal cases.
Turscak is serving a 30-year sentence in connection with a 2001 racketeering and conspiracy to kill a rival gang member conviction. His legal issues date back to the 1990s, a time when he served as leader of a faction of the prevalent prison gang, Mexican Mafia.
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