George Floyd, Fired Officer Overlapped Security Shifts; Ex-Police Officer Charged With Murder

By ABC 5 News. A former club owner in south Minneapolis says the now-fired police officer and the black man who died in his custody this week both worked security for her club up to the end of last year.

George Floyd and now-former Officer Derek Chauvin both worked security at the El Nuevo Rodeo club on Lake Street, according to Maya Santamaria. Santamaria owned the building for nearly two decades, but sold the venue within the last few months.

“Chauvin was our off-duty police for almost the entirety of the 17 years that we were open,” Santamaria said. “They were working together at the same time, it’s just that Chauvin worked outside and the security guards were inside.” . . .

Although the two overlapped working security on popular music nights within the last year, Santamaria can not say for certain they knew each other because there were often a couple dozen security guards, including off-duty officers.

Santamaria says she did not recognize either one of her security guards in the video showing Chauvin kneeling on Floyd’s neck not far from where they used to work. (Read more from “George Floyd, Fired Officer Overlapped Security Shifts” HERE)

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Ex-Police Officer Derek Chauvin Charged With Murder, Manslaughter in George Floyd Death

By Star Tribune. Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman on Friday announced murder and manslaughter charges that accuse a fired Minneapolis police officer of killing George Floyd — an act caught on video and seen around the world, sparking days of violent demonstrations across the Twin Cities.

Derek Chauvin, 44, was arrested late Friday morning and charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter four days after he pinned his knee on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes Monday at the intersection of E. 38th Street and Chicago Avenue as the unarmed and handcuffed man told him he couldn’t breathe.

Chauvin is being held in the Ramsey County jail on $500,000 bail. The agency that led the investigation resulting in the charges, the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, late Friday explained why he wasn’t jailed in the county where he was charged. (Read more from “Ex-Police Officer Derek Chauvin Charged With Murder, Manslaughter in George Floyd Death” HERE)

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