The Minneapolis cop who was seen kneeling on George Floyd’s neck before he died was involved in three police shootings during his 19 years on the job — and has been the subject of 10 conduct complaints that resulted in no disciplinary action, according to reports.
In 2006, Derek Chauvin was one of six officers who responded to a stabbing, according to Insider, which cited a 2016 report from the Minnesota activist group Communities United Against Police Brutality.
Wayne Reyes, who was suspected of stabbing his girlfriend and a friend, was shot dead when he pointed a shotgun at the officers from his truck, according to the report.
It was unclear during the initial probe which officers fired their weapons, NBC News reported.
Following protocol, all of the officers — including Chauvin — were put on paid leave during the probe, the outcome of which was unclear. Police did not respond to the network’s request for Chauvin’s service record.
Also in 2006, Chauvin and seven other cops were named in an unrelated federal lawsuit filed by an inmate at the Minnesota Correctional Facility. The case was dismissed without prejudice the following year, NBC News reported.
In 2008, Chauvin responded to a 911 domestic assault call, according to the Pioneer Press of St. Paul.
Chauvin and his partner entered the home, where they confronted Ira Latrell Toles, 21, who was holed up in a bathroom. He tried to flee when Chauvin got inside and grabbed at the cop’s gun.
The officer fired twice, hitting Toles in the stomach, but he survived, the news outlet reported. Chauvin and his unnamed partner were placed on paid leave during an investigation, also according to standard protocol, according to NBC News.
Earlier in 2008, Chauvin was awarded a medal of valor for “his response in an incident involving a man armed with a gun,” the Pioneer Press reported, and was recognized again in 2009 by the department.
In 2011, Chauvin was again placed on temporary leave after he responded with other officers to reports of a shooting.
Leroy Martinez, 23, was spotted running from the scene while brandishing a handgun and the officers gave chase, according to local reports. Terry Nutter, one of the cops, shot Martinez.
An eyewitness challenged the police’s claim that Martinez was holding a gun when he was shot, according to Insider, which cited a report in the Star Tribune.
Delora Iceman told the Star Tribune that Martinez had dropped the pistol and held his arms in the air before cops gunned him down.
Chauvin, who did not fire his gun, and the other cops were placed on a standard three-day administrative leave during the investigation.
Then-Police Chief Tim Dolan later said the officers, including Chauvin, “acted appropriately and courageously,” NBC News reported.
Chauvin also has been the subject of multiple internal complaints, according to a database compiled by Communities United Against Police Brutality.
In three reviews from the Civilian Review Authority, he was found to have used “demeaning tone,” “derogatory language” and “language – other,” according to Insider.
He also has been the subject of seven reviews by the local Office of Police Conduct — all of which conclude: “Closed — No discipline.”
No other details were available on any of the cases.
Meanwhile, another officer seen in the Floyd video — Tou Thao — also has a record of similar incidents and settled an excessive-force lawsuit out of court in 2017, according to Insider.
Lamar Ferguson was walking with a pregnant woman in 2014 when Thao and his partner Robert Thunder stopped and searched them, according to the lawsuit.
The cops then began beating Ferguson, according to the legal filings.
Ferguson was subjected to “punches, kicks, and knees to the face and body” while “defenseless and handcuffed” — and suffered “broken teeth as well as other bruising and trauma.”
Thao said in a deposition that he arrested Ferguson because of an outstanding warrant, adding that he punched the suspect when one of his hands slipped out of the handcuffs and he resisted arrest, according to a Star Tribune report.
Chauvin, Thao and the two other officers involved in Floyd’s arrest have been fired.