Non-white officers claim they have been barred from going near ‘George Floyd murderer’ Derek Chauvin
A group of minority officers who work at the jail where Derek Chauvin is being held claim they have been barred from having any contact with Chauvin because of their race.
Eight Ramsey County corrections officers filed racial discrimination charges with the Minnesota Department of Human Rights on Friday alleging they were told they would be a potential ‘liability’ around Chauvin – who is charged with killing George Floyd by kneeling on his neck for more than eight minutes.
According to the lawsuit obtained by the Star Tribune, the minority officers were ordered to a different floor when Chauvin was booked into the jail and were told that their race is what made them a potential ‘liability.’
Bonnie Smith, the lawyer representing the eight officers, said the order has left a lasting impact on their morale.
‘I think they deserve to have employment decisions made based on performance and behavior. Their main goal is to make sure this never happens again,’ Smith said.
However, Jail Superintendent Steve Lydon allegedly said he was told Chauvin would be arriving in ten minutes and made the decision ‘to protect and support’ minority employees by shielding them from the accused murderer.
‘Out of care and concern, and without the comfort of time, I made a decision to limit exposure to employees of color to a murder suspect who could potentially aggravate those feeling,’ Lydon said in a statement during an internal investigation, according to The Star Tribune.
Lydon claimed he reversed the decision less than an hour later.
‘I then met with the individuals that were working at the time and explained to them what my thought process was at the time and assured them that the decision was made out of concern for them and was in no way related to a concern regarding their professionalism or Chauvin’s safety. I realized that I had erred in judgement and issued an apology to the affected employees,’ he said.
The discrimination allegations are expected to spark an automatic state investigation, which would mark the second Department of Human Rights probe into racism in law enforcement in recent weeks. The first was a sweeping investigation launched into the Minneapolis Police Department in the wake of Floyd’s death.
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