Talk:Derek Chauvin

This is the talk page for discussing improvements to the Derek Chauvin article.
This is not a forum for general discussion of the article's subject.

Put new text under old text. Click here to start a new topic.
New to Wikipedia? Welcome! Learn to edit; get help.

Article policies

Find sources: Google (books · news · scholar · free images · WP refs) · FENS · JSTOR · TWL

Archives: 1, 2: 14 days

The subject of this article is controversial and content may be in dispute. When updating the article, be bold, but not reckless. Feel free to try to improve the article, but don't take it personally if your changes are reversed; instead, come here to the talk page to discuss them. Content must be written from a neutral point of view. Include citations when adding content and consider tagging or removing unsourced information.

This article was nominated for deletion. Please review the prior discussions if you are considering re-nomination:

Keep, 12 June 2020, see discussion.
Speedy delete, 3 June 2020, see discussion.

This article must adhere to the biographies of living persons (BLP) policy, even if it is not a biography, because it contains material about living persons. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately from the article and its talk page, especially if potentially libellous. If such material is repeatedly inserted, or if you have other concerns, please report the issue to this noticeboard.

If you are a subject of this article, or acting on behalf of one, and you need help, please see this help page.

Biography

This article is within the scope of WikiProject Biography, a collaborative effort to create, develop and organize Wikipedia's articles about people. All interested editors are invited to join the project and contribute to the discussion. For instructions on how to use this banner, please refer to the documentation.BiographyWikipedia:WikiProject BiographyTemplate:WikiProject Biographybiography

Minnesota Low‑importance

	Minnesota portal This article is within the scope of WikiProject Minnesota, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of articles related to Minnesota on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.MinnesotaWikipedia:WikiProject MinnesotaTemplate:WikiProject MinnesotaMinnesota
Low	This article has been rated as Low-importance on the project's importance scale.

Black Lives Matter Low‑importance

	This article is within the scope of WikiProject Black Lives Matter, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of Black Lives Matter on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.Black Lives MatterWikipedia:WikiProject Black Lives MatterTemplate:WikiProject Black Lives MatterBlack Lives Matter
Low	This article has been rated as Low-importance on the importance scale.

Crime and Criminal Biography Low‑importance

	This article is within the scope of WikiProject Crime and Criminal Biography, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of Crime and Criminal Biography on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.Crime and Criminal BiographyWikipedia:WikiProject Crime and Criminal BiographyTemplate:WikiProject Crime and Criminal BiographyCrime-related
Low	This article has been rated as Low-importance on the project's importance scale.

Law Enforcement Low‑importance

	Law portal This article is within the scope of the WikiProject Law Enforcement. Please Join, Create, and Assess.Law EnforcementWikipedia:WikiProject Law EnforcementTemplate:WikiProject Law EnforcementLaw enforcement
Low	This article has been rated as Low-importance on the importance scale.

Discrimination Low‑importance

	This article is within the scope of WikiProject Discrimination, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of Discrimination on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.DiscriminationWikipedia:WikiProject DiscriminationTemplate:WikiProject DiscriminationDiscrimination
Low	This article has been rated as Low-importance on the importance scale.

Text and/or other creative content from Derek Chauvin was copied or moved into State v. Chauvin. The former page's history now serves to provide attribution for that content in the latter page, and it must not be deleted as long as the latter page exists.

The contentious topics procedure applies to this page. This page is related to articles about living or recently deceased people, and edits relating to the subject (living or recently deceased) of such biographical articles, which has been designated as a contentious topic.

Editors who repeatedly or seriously fail to adhere to the purpose of Wikipedia, any expected standards of behaviour, or any normal editorial process may be blocked or restricted by an administrator. Editors are advised to familiarise themselves with the contentious topics procedures before editing this page.

faq page

Frequently asked questions

Q1: Does it have to say "white" police officer?

A1: Yes, because almost all reliable sources emphasize the significance of this fact.

Q2: I read some information on the web that isn't in this article!

A2: When proposing anything to be added to the article you need to cite a reliable source; secondary sources are generally preferred over primary.

Q3: This article is biased (for/against), or (whitewashes/blames), (Floyd/police)!

A3: See our neutral point of view policy. Complaints of bias must be accompanied by specific concerns or suggestions for change. Vague, general statements don't help.

Q4: Why is this article calling it a murder instead of a death/killing?

A4: As a person was formally convicted for murder in a court of law, the article uses the term "murder", in line with the community guidance at WP:MURDERS.

Q5: Wasn't Floyd killed near a store called Cub Foods, not Cup Foods?

A5: The store is Cup Foods, and is not affiliated with the Cub Foods store chain.

Q6: Why does the article use such a graphic photo? Isn't it in poor taste?

A6: The lead image was determined by the community in a formal Request for Comment process. The RfC reached an "overwhelming consensus" that "...the image, despite it being traumatizing, should be kept per WP:NOTCENSORED, as it is an appropriate representation of the topic."

Q7: Why was my request or comment removed?

A7: Because of the frequency of meritless and disruptive requests, any further requests to describe Floyd's murder using other terms (e.g. "death", "overdose") or to change the name of the article accordingly will be removed without consideration, unless the request complies with all relevant Wikipedia guidelines and essays, including WP:Requested moves, WP:Common name, WP:Article titles, WP:Naming conventions (violence and deaths), and WP:Reliable sources. Anyone removing such requests should include a link to this FAQ in their edit summary.

Q8: Why do we not call the protests riots?

A8: Because most reliable sources call them protests, not riots.

Q9: Did he not die of a drug overdose?

A9: No, while fentanyl was a contributory factor, his death certificate lists his cause of death as "cardiopulmonary arrest complicating law enforcement subdual, restraint, and neck compression".

This article was nominated for deletion review on 4 June 2020. The result of the discussion was Relist at AfD.

This article has been viewed enough times in a single week to appear in the Top 25 Report 2 times. The weeks in which this happened:

Semi-protected edit request on 30 November 2024

This edit request has been answered. Set the |answered= or |ans= parameter to no to reactivate your request.

Dereck Chauvin was charged with the murder of George Floyd, but upon sincere review of actual footage, this isn't likely the case. The daily wire has video footage of George Floyd's death from the perspective of the officers, including Dereck, and it clearly shows that there were many other factors that are more probable to have contributed to George Floyd's death. Some of which are a high level of drugs George was on (which caused his lungs to swell), the fact that the oxygen wasn't attached in the ambulance (limited George's oxygen on the way to the hospital), and the fact that George did not disclose he was on drugs to the officers (causing a more aggressive arrest in response to George's erratic behavior while high). The video footage can be found on the daily wiring delineating all the aforementioned. https://www.dailywire.com/videos/the-fall-of-minneapolis Tomsawyer565 (talk) 03:13, 30 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Not done: WP:OR does not replace WP:RS in articles. LizardJr8 (talk) 04:03, 30 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]

The cia and left owns Wikipedia. Stop 100.2.249.223 (talk) 12:26, 9 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

The Daily Wire have been found to be unreliable and take situations out of context. Turtletennisfogwheat (talk) 02:16, 10 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

"Derek Michael Chauvin . . . is an American former police officer who murdered George Floyd"

Whoever wrote that into this article is a sick person.

That is not what happened. Hackercraft (talk) 18:55, 11 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

See the FAQ item #4. He was convicted in court. EvergreenFir (talk) 19:02, 11 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Yes it is per the FAQ Turtletennisfogwheat (talk) 22:02, 13 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

federal appeal accepted

federal court ordered a fresh examination of Floyd's heart tissue etc too test for other theories about his cause of death. multiple news sources. example: [1] Jazi Zilber (talk) 07:45, 17 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Derek Chauvin was convicted because he kneeled on George Floyd's neck for 9 minutes and 29 seconds, and George Floyd died because of it. Legally, it does not matter whether George Floyd's neck was made of eggshells: Derek Chauvin committed an unjustified murder, and he was convicted for it. 47.16.184.184 (talk) 12:49, 21 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

To be more precise, an unjustified homicide = Derek Chauvin murdered George Floyd.

It does not matter how fragile the victim's body was, because that is immaterial to the conviction he received: Derek Chauvin knelt on his victim's neck until the man died. It was not police duties. It was against the law. These are the established facts. 47.16.184.184 (talk) 12:52, 21 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

BLP issue - Chauvin might be innocent

14 Minneapolis police officers have said under oath that one of the witnesses in Chauvin's trial committed perjury.

https://www.lawofficer.com/over-a-dozen-current-and-former-officers-say-they-believe-mpds-katie-blackwell-perjured-herself-during-derek-chauvin-trial/

https://alphanews.org/over-a-dozen-current-and-former-officers-say-they-believe-mpds-katie-blackwell-perjured-herself-during-derek-chauvin-trial/

A Plumbing I Will Go (talk) 04:39, 10 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

"Police officers" as in people who have a clear conflict of interest in cases involving police brutality. Dimadick (talk) 23:14, 11 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

First of all, your two sources are identical.

But more importantly, I can assure you. The trial went over the training of the officers in great detail, multiple times, including showing training videos and documents detailing the techniques taught. If what Katie said is wrong, then the defence had their chance to cross-examine her and present contradicting evidence.

It is true that neck restraints using knees were taught to at least some officers. It is true that Katie denied this. She testified that neck restraints were only taught with arms. She may have said this because she never saw the relevant training materials herself, or because she forgot, or because she was lying. Who really knows? The 14 officers reported on by Alpha News seem to think they know. They probably don't, though.

But it is also true that officers were taught to place suspects in a recovery position as soon as practical in order to avoid positional asphyxia. Furthermore, they were taught to use a hobble if available, which it was at the time of George Floyd's arrest. The officers involved in the arrest did none of these. As such, it was determined by the court that Derek Chauvin did in fact violate department policy, knowingly or negligently so, and that he was aware or should have been aware of the dangers of doing so, and that as such, qualified immunity should not apply.

Had the officers placed Derek Chauvin in a recovery position after he became uncombative, there is in fact a very good chance in my opinion that they would've been found not guilty, even if George Floyd had still died. Alas, they did not.

Did Katie say an untrue thing? Probably. Was it on purpose? Irrelevant. Did it influence the jury into giving a guilty verdict to a man who would otherwise have been found not guilty? No. But if it did, then Chauvin should file an appeal. Dieknon (talk) 20:31, 10 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Please see FAQ 4. He was formally convicted for murder in a court of law, and this article follows their verdict, in line with the community guidance at WP:MURDERS. We also follow what reliable sources say, and those two posts of the same article do not meet the criteria for reliability on WP. ~Malvoliox (talk | contribs) 22:19, 10 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Semi-protected edit request on 16 February 2025

This edit request has been answered. Set the |answered= or |ans= parameter to no to reactivate your request.

Derek Chauvin did not murder george flyod, george flyod died from cardiac arrest from overdosing on fentanyl 2601:541:101:3390:957F:F459:8D65:1CBC (talk) 10:19, 16 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Not done: See number A9 at Talk:Murder_of_George_Floyd/FAQ referring to the cause on the death certificate. LizardJr8 (talk) 17:36, 16 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Consider the Autopsy

https://www.hennepin.us/-/media/hennepinus/residents/public-safety/medical-examiner/floyd-autopsy-6-3-20.pdf There are a number of medical reasons George Floyd was predisposed to death at the time of his altercation with police on the day he passed. Stress and contributing hormonal reactions to his situation would have debatably been too much for his doubly-enlarged heart, all while under the influence of multiple substances such as meth, THC, and fentanyl. This article may need to consider details of his official autopsy report (not the one paid for by his family, as the examiner’s report follows trend of biased autopsies given on multiple prior autopsies). “No life-threatening injuries identified” in this official autopsy report poses contrast to the Wikipedia page’s statement or claim that Mr. Floyd was murdered by the police officer. It may have been the high stress of his situation that caused Mr. Floyd’s untimely death, stress which could have come from any next event of high concern to Mr. Floyd. 2605:59C8:11BC:7110:BC26:ABF:2992:5358 (talk) 03:06, 30 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]