Derek Chauvin Stabbed 22 Times: Symbolic Reference to Black Lives Matter Explained

Former police officer Derek Chauvin was stabbed 22 times by inmate John Turscak at the Federal Correctional Institution in Tucson. Turscak, a former member of the Mexican mafia, said he attacked Chauvin on Black Friday as a symbolic reference to the Black Lives Matter movement and the “Black Hand” symbol associated with the Mexican Mafia.

Turscak used an improvised knife to attack Chauvin in the prison’s law library on November 24. Bureau of Prisons employees stopped the attack and performed life-saving measures on Chauvin, who was then taken to a hospital for treatment.

Chauvin’s lawyer, Eric Nelson, had advocated for keeping him out of the general population and away from other inmates, anticipating he would be a target. In Minnesota, Chauvin was mainly observed in solitary confinement for his protection.

Turscak is charged with attempted murder, assault with intent to commit murder, assault with a dangerous weapon, and assault resulting in serious bodily injury. The attempted murder and assault with intent to commit murder charges are each punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

Chauvin, 47, was sent to FCI Tucson from a maximum-security Minnesota state prison in August 2022 to simultaneously serve a 21-year federal sentence for violating George Floyd’s civil rights and a 22-and-a-half-year state sentence for second-degree murder.

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