The former Minneapolis police officer charged in the death of George Floyd was moved to a facility with higher security, Minnesota officials said.
Derek Chauvin was arrested last week after videos showed him kneeling on the neck of Floyd, a black man who was arrested for alleged forgery. Charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter, Chauvin was held at the Ramsey County Jail before being taken to the Hennepin County Jail on Sunday.
The officer was moved to Minnesota Correctional Facility—Oak Park Heights, state Department of Corrections Commissioner Paul Schnell said.
The facility, located in Stillwater and able to hold up to 473 inmates, has level five security, the highest in the state corrections system. “The majority of inmates housed here are maximum and close custody, as some of the inmates need a higher level of security,” the agency’s website states.
According to the June 1 inmate profile report, nearly 300 inmates at the facility were sentenced for murder.
Chauvin will be held away from the facility’s general population, a Minnesota Department of Corrections spokesman told The Epoch Times.
The transfer wasn’t atypical, according to Schnell, who noted former Minneapolis Police Officer Mohamed Noor was also moved to Oak Park Heights when arrested in connection with the killing of Justine Damond, an unarmed woman.
Hennepin County Sheriff David Hutchinson asked for Chauvin to be transferred to the Oak Park Heights facility.
The department spokesman told The Epoch Times in an email that the transfer “was made out of an abundance of caution to ensure he is safely held and after concern about space in the jail due to large numbers of arrests related to the unrest over the last few nights.”
Chauvin was released to another authority within the state on Sunday at 8:38 p.m., according to jail records.
He was being processed on Monday morning.
The former police officer is scheduled to appear in court on June 8.
