Derek Chauvin Could Receive $1 Million In Pension

Derek Chauvin, the Minneapolis police officer who killed George Floyd by holding a knee to his neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, may have been fired from the police department and facing second degree murder charges, but he’s repotedly still on track to receive up to $1 million in taxpayer funds for his pension.

According to CNN, Chauvin would still benefit from the Police and Fire (P&F) Fund, a state pension plan from the Public Employment Retirement Association (PERA). partially funded by taxpayer dollars. Created in 1959, the P&F Fund provides “retirement and other benefits for county and city public safety officers throughout Minnesota.”

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CNN conducted an analysis on Chauvin’s tenure, payroll data from the previous fiscal year, and department salary schedules, concluding that the former officer would be eligible for benefits worth an estimated $50,000 per year once he reaches the age of retirement, which, according to the P&F Fund Handbook, is 55. Chauvin is currently 44 years old.

State laws in Minnesota do not require felons to forfeit their pensions, and PERA’s Executive Director Doug Anderson told Newsweek that the organization’s hands are tied: neither their board or staff have the authority to deny or revoke member benefits.

“Changes would need to be done through the legislative process,” Anderson says.

If Minneapolis continues on its current trajectory of defunding it’s police department, that could include pension benefits.

Derek Chauvin was arrested May 29 and charged with third degree murder, but that charge was upgraded to second-degree murder.

The three other officers, who watched Floyd die, Thomas Lane, J. Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao were fired after the fatal May 25 incident. They were charged with aiding and abetting.