Both George Floyd and Derek Chauvin, the police officer who knelt on his neck, worked as security for the same club but may not have known each other, according to a former nightclub owner in Minneapolis.
Maya Santamaria, who used to run El Nuevo Rodeo Club, told local news that the two men were in her employment throughout last year.
“Chauvin was our off-duty police for almost the entirety of the 17 years that we were open,” said Santamaria. “They were working together at the same time — it’s just that Chauvin worked outside and the security guards were inside.”
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For the reason that they worked in different quarters at the nightclub, Santamaria believes “if they would have crossed paths, it would probably not have been something they remembered.”
In a related development, Business Insider has reported that Chauvin, who has been charged with murder and manslaughter following the death of Floyd, had been involved in a number of shootings and violent conduct by officers. Ten complaints have been filed against him in his 19 years with Minneapolis Police.
Earlier, a CNN reporter on the grounds in Minneapolis, Minnesota covering the protests in the aftermath of the killing of Floyd, was arrested while giving a live report on-air.
Omar Jimenez, a black man, was giving updates on the protests that have since seen irate demonstrators burn the office of the 3rd precinct in Minneapolis. The precinct is where Chauvin worked.
From what appeared in the live broadcast, it seemed the officers had earlier expressed misgivings on where Jimenez and his crew were positioned.
But Jimenez remained in that position with his crew, perhaps because the officers had not yet shown him where they wanted him to stand. He then returned to talking to CNN anchor John Berman. Shortly after explaining how the precinct fire had been handled by a team of firefighters and police, Jimenez was arrested by two officers.
Jimenez has so far been released after the news sparked widespread condemnation.
