George Floyd case: Two Minneapolis cops caught on tape have history of conduct complaints

Derek Chauvin, the Minneapolis police officer caught on camera kneeling on the neck of George Floyd as he gasped for air, has been the subject of a 10 conduct complaints and three police shootings that led to no disciplinary action during his 19 years on the job.

Tou Thao, the second officer seen in the video, also has a checkered past that includes allegations of police brutality and a lawsuit.

Together, the men have more than a dozen complaints that have never resulted in any formal reprimands.

Chauvin, an officer who had been praised for valor during his time on the Minneapolis Police Department, was fired from the force on Tuesday along with three other officers involved in the incident: Thao, Thomas Lane, and J. Alexander Kueng.

On Wednesday, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey demanded Chauvin, the officer seen on video kneeling on Floyd's neck, be arrested.

"Why is the man who killed George Floyd not in jail?" Frey asked. "We cannot turn a blind eye, it is on us as leaders to see this for what it is and call it what it is."

A deeper look into Chauvin's police record shows a man with a history of questionable behavior who was never formally reprimanded for his actions even though they might have merited it.

Chauvin joined the Minneapolis Police Academy in October 2001 and has had use-of-force incidents as well as one lawsuit related to allegations he violated a prisoner's federal constitutional rights.

In 2006, he was one of five officers who responded to a stabbing at the home of Wayne Reyes, a man police claimed stabbed his friend, his girlfriend, and then threatened to kill them all with a shotgun. According to reports, police pursed Reyes, who got in his truck and fled. When he got out of the vehicle with the shotgun in his hand, officers fired several shots at Reyes, killing him.

According to NBC News, it was unclear which officer shot first. All five were put on paid leave while ... (Read more)

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