More than a week after a Minneapolis club owner identified that both George Floyd and ex-cop Derek Chauvin worked at her club, a co-worker has revealed that the two had 'bumped heads while working together. Floyd's attorney Benjamin Cusp has called for Chauvin's charges to be raised to first-degree-murder, as the two knew each other.
In a fatal encounter on May 25, Chauvin, a Minneapolis police officer knelt on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, as the latter gasped for air. He passed out and later died, sparking widespread protests, first in Minneapolis, then in other parts of the country. Chauvin was fired a day later and was arrested on May 29 and charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter. Amid the outcry, his charges were elevated to second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.
David Pinney, a co-worker at the El Nuevo Rodeo club where both Floyd and Chauvin worked, said that not only did Floyd and Chauvin know each other, but they had 'bumped heads' in the past. It had a lot to do with Chauvin being extremely aggressive within the club with some of the patrons, Pinney told CBS.
When asked whether he had any doubts about whether the two had known each other, Pinney said he was sure. Asked how well they knew each other, he knew them 'pretty well'.
A week ago, Maya Santamaria, the owner of El Nuevo Rodeo club, had identified that the two worked for her. While Chauvin was her off-duty guard for 17 years, Floyd worked as a security guard inside the club. In particular, the two worked at the same time on Tuesdays when the club had a popular weekly dance competition.
Asked if Chauvin had a problem with black people, Santamaria said she thought he was afraid and intimidated by them. She said her employees never complained about him but they had a problem with how he handled some of the patrons. About Floyd, she revealed that he was "beloved in the Latin community because he worked at another Latin club too".
