Why Derek Chauvin May Be Charged With 1st Degree Murder In The Death of George Floyd

On the CBS special, Justice for All hosted by Gayle King, George Floyd’s brother Philonise said he believes Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer charged with second-degree murder in Floyd’s death, knew exactly who Floyd was as he pressed his knee into his neck. Not only that, Philonise said he believed it was personal, and he’s not the only one who sees it that way.

Both Floyd and Chauvin used to work security at El Nuevo Rodeo, a nightclub in Minneapolis that was burned to the ground in recent riots. Floyd worked security inside, while Chauvin was paid to sit in his squad car outside the club when he was off-duty. Former co-worker David Pinney said that not only did Floyd and Chauvin know each other, but they had a contentious history.

“They bumped heads,” Pinney said, adding, “It has a lot to do with Derek being extremely aggressive within the club with some of the patrons, which was an issue.” “Is there any doubt in your mind that Derek Chauvin knew George Floyd?” CBS correspondent Jeff Pegues asked.  “No, he knew him,” Pinney replied. “How well did he know him?” “I’d say pretty well.”

Chauvin had a history of complaints against him, and the former owner of the club, Maya Santamaria, was not surprised by what she saw in the video, except that it went as far as it did.

“I was not surprised when I initially saw his knee on his neck, to be honest,” Santamaria said. “Because I’ve seen Chauvin do stuff along those lines. What surprised me was that he didn’t stop right away once George was obviously, ya know, saying, ‘OK, OK.’”

Santamaria also believes race was an issue for Chauvin.

“Do you think Derek had a problem with black people?” Santamaria was asked. She replied, “I think he was afraid and intimidated.”

For more on Justice for All go to CBSNews.com.

Watch the lawyer for one of George Floyd’s arresting officers claim it’s ‘questionable’ the knee was on Floyd’s neck:

Lawyer for officer charged in George Floyd’s death makes outrageous claims

Earl Gray, the lawyer for Thomas Lane, one of the Minneapolis police officers charged in the death of George Floyd, joined Chris Cuomo on CNN Monday night where he made some outrageous claims about the events surrounding Floyd’s death. In particular, Gray questioned whether the knee of officer Derek Chauvin was actually on Floyd’s neck as he laid on the ground with two other officers, including Thomas, on top of him. Gray claims it’s questionable, despite video clearly showing Chauvin’s knee on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes.

Read more from Yahoo Entertainment:

• Jemelle Hill shares ‘frustration’ over Roger Goodell’s apology: ‘NFL showed exactly who they are’
• John Oliver calls Trump’s comments about George Floyd ‘utterly f***ing disgusting’
• Stacey Abrams calls out President Trump’s ‘strongman language’ and ‘invocation of violence’

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