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George Floyd killer Derek Chauvin moved from harsh Minnesota prison to 'comfortable' facility in Arizona

The Tucson facility houses 266 inmates, both male and female, and includes a high-security penitentiary and a minimum-security satellite camp

TUCSON, ARIZONA: Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer convicted in George Floyd's killing, has reportedly been moved from a Minnesota state prison to a medium-security federal prison in Arizona, where he may be held under less restrictive conditions.

Chauvin, 46, was picked up Wednesday, August 24, from a maximum-security prison in a Minneapolis suburb—where he would spend most of his day in solitary confinement—to the Federal Correctional Institution in Tucson. According to the Bureau of Prisons, the Tucson facility houses 266 inmates, both male and female, and includes a high-security penitentiary and a minimum-security satellite camp. Bureau of Prisons spokeswoman Randilee Giamussoau said she couldn't detail the circumstances of Chauvin's confinement due to privacy, safety, and security concerns, the Associated Press reported.

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Chauvin is expected to be safer in the federal system considering it typically houses less-violent inmates and he'd be less likely to face inmates he had arrested or investigated as a Minneapolis police officer. "It's dangerous to be an officer in any prison," former US Attorney Tom Heffelfinger said after Chauvin was sentenced last month, as quoted by AP. "It's even more dangerous in state prison because of the nature of the inmate population. There are gangs, for example. And police officers just don´t do well there. Those risks are reduced in federal prison."

Last month, Chauvin was sentenced by the US District Court in St. Paul to 21 years on federal civil rights charges after pleading guilty in an agreement with prosecutors. The former cop was already serving 22½ years for his conviction in state court on murder and manslaughter charges, but a condition of the plea deal called for both the sentences to the served concurrently and in federal prison.

Floyd died on May 25, 2020, after Chauvin pinned him to the pavement with his knee for 9½ minutes. Video footage captured at the scene showed Floyd struggling to breathe and crying out for help after he was apprehended for allegedly passing a counterfeit bill at a nearby grocery store. His demise sparked a wave of protests against police brutality and racism across the globe.

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During Chauvin's sentencing, US District Judge Paul Magnuson suggested that the former cop could be placed near family who live between Iowa and Minnesota. However, federal prison bosses are not bound by the law to heed judicial requests. According to the Tucson prison's inmate orientation handbook, inmates are tasked with sweeping and mopping their cell floors and removing trash, among other activities. The facility offers leisure programs that include "organized and informal games, sports, physical fitness, table games, hobby crafts, music programs, intramural activities, social and cultural organizations, and movies."

Besides Chauvin, Magnuson also sentenced ex-Minneapolis police Officer J. Alexander Kueng to three years in prison and former Officer Tou Thao to 3½ years on criminal civil rights charges related to Floyd's death. Former officer Thomas Lane was sentenced in July to 2½ years and has been ordered to report to a low-security federal prison camp in Colorado later this month.