Derek Chauvin, a former Minneapolis police officer who was convicted for the murder of George Floyd, was stabbed in prison on Friday, the New York Times reported.
Floyd, an African-American man, died on May 25, 2020, after Chauvin knelt on his neck for about 9 minutes while he was handcuffed. The incident triggered protests as people called for justice and an end to racism.
Floyd’s cries of “I can’t breathe” were a rallying call for demonstrators domestically and abroad who took to the streets in the killing’s aftermath.
The US Federal Bureau of Prisons confirmed an assault to AFP without naming the person wounded.
“An incarcerated individual was assaulted at the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) Tucson,” in the southwestern state of Arizona, it said in a statement.
“Responding employees initiated life-saving measures for one incarcerated individual,” the statement said, adding that the wounded individual was sent to a local hospital “for further treatment and evaluation.”
Chauvin survived the attack, according to a New York Times source.
Chauvin was found guilty of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in 2021, and sentenced to 22 and a half years in prison.