Only White Prison Staff Are Allowed To Guard Derek Chauvin

Eight correctional officers in Minnesota filed a lawsuit on Friday (June 19) that says officials barred them from guarding Derek Chauvin, the White former Minneapolis police officers charged with murder for choking George Floyd to death, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

“I understood that the decision to segregate us had been made because we could not be trusted to carry out our work responsibilities professionally around the high-profile inmate — solely because of the color of our skin,” an acting sergeant who is Black stated.

The statement continued: “I am not aware of a similar situation where White officers were segregated from an inmate.”

The complaint, filed with the state’s Department of Human Rights, says all officers of color were sent off the floor where Chauvin was housed when he arrived. 

Ramsey County Jail superintendent Steve Lydon reportedly said during an internal investigation that he made that decision “to limit exposure to employees of color to a murder suspect who could potentially aggravate” the racial trauma they might feel over the killing of Floyd.

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“I think they deserve to have employment decisions made based on performance and behavior,” said Bonnie Smith, the attorney representing the eight guards.