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Is Derek Chauvin a SOCIOPATH? George Floyd killer cop's eyes shifted from ‘fear to anger’ as verdict was read

Body language experts reveal decode Chauvin's behavior during the trial, as social media adds to the debate

For most of his trial, Derek Chauvin was like most defendants. He was silent and the only action he did was scribble notes. No one knew what Chauvin was thinking or feeling during the 16 days, but we finally may have some insight. Body language experts have called Chauvin's behavior "sociopathic". 

Chauvin shocked the world when he did not react to the verdict pronouncing him guilty for the murder of George Floyd was being read out and he sat stone-faced as he was for most of the trial. He also wore his mask throughout the trial, making it harder for people to read his facial expressions, but did take it off occasionally. All these choices were made on purpose and each provides us with some insight into his thought process. 

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Experts interviewed by The Daily Mail had plenty to say on the matter, especially the key moment Chauvin seemed to shift from fear to anger. This is what they had to say, and why social media believes Chauvin is a sociopath.

Expert take on Chauvin's behavior

Patti Wood, a body language expert and author spoke to the Mail on Wednesday, April 21. In her opinion, Chauvin's behavior "could be perceived as unfeeling and even 'sociopathic' in the way that his expression remained unchanged". The only time she sensed any emotion was during the reading out of the verdict. Wood said she "had enough baseline of his normal to detect his shift from fear to anger in these few moments. I would say he did not expect his behavior to have reached this judgment." She reached that conclusion based on the rapid eye movement, blinking and even the position of his eyebrows.

That was very different from his behavior during the trial. Chauvin removed his mask when his attorney presented his closing arguments. During the three-hour-long remarks, Wood believes Chauvin did so "because he wanted the jury to be able to see emotion on his face after many of the witnesses called by the state described him as being devoid of emotion during his fatal restraint of Floyd." She said, "I think the mask off was an attempt to have the jury read him and potentially see him be emotional."

 He was also seen scribbling on his notepad continuously. Wood put this down to a tactic she herself promotes, to "stay focused and occupied, and overall not be as nervous and not give as many tells." She added, "I give caveats to that advice however saying its important at times to show respect, caring, and concern partiality. These caveats were not coached and or shown by Chavin". 

Did the lack of emotion play a role in the jury's verdict? Possibly, but we don't know for sure. Chauvin did not seem to show any remorse or sadness during his trial, which angered many people. Political commentator Van Jones appeared on CNN and said, "We see no remorse from this officer. We see no emotion from this officer. The idea that a sociopath could be walking around with a gun and badge in our society, for some people, it's just too much". Jones later tweeted that segment and said, "Can cops be SOCIOPATHS?? Short answer, yes. But for jurors in the case of #DerekChauvin jury, it could get complicated. WATCH THIS.."

Wood concluded that "the constant note-taking and the chin up, which can be seen even with a mask on, may have been the reason some people labeled Chauvin as looking unfeeling or even labeling him as a sociopath". 

'This obvious sociopath' says Twitter

As the verdict was read out and in the hours that followed, there were plenty of reactions on social media. One user tweeted, "I'm glad as hell that Derek Chauvin went down. But remember that this obvious sociopath was a respected, veteran officer in a major metropolitan police force in an ostensibly liberal city. Lots of high-ranking officers knew exactly who he was and were just fine with it."

Another said, "What a beautiful sight to see that smirking sociopath led away with his hands behind his back, convicted murderer". One person tweeted, "His face when they read the verdict, like he thought he was going to get some last minute reprieve. Not this time, you sociopath. Not ever again. You're now a cop in prison, son, best of luck to ya."

"He's wearing a mask so you can't see the bottom half of his face, but Derek Chauvin's face didn't even change as they read all the guilty charges. What a sociopath" claimed one user. 

Fox News was also dragged into the debate, with one user tweeting, "I thought basically everyone in America knew that #DerekChauvin is a sociopath. And a murderer... Then I watched @TuckerCarlson and realized that his cult may have missed the briefing." Another user tweeted, "Don't worry about Derek Chauvin. he's gonna do great in prison. he'll probably be running one of the gangs in there in a year or two. stone sociopath - see his eyes as they read the verdict?"

Following the verdict, Chauvin was remanded to MCF - Oak Park Heights, Minnesota's only maximum-security prison. He will remain at Oak Heights till his sentencing in eight weeks' time. The Minnesota Department of Corrections released Chauvin's first photo from jail, showing him with puffy eyes and a frown. Wood offered an opinion on that too. She said, "there's slight defiance in his eyes".