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Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis, Minn., police officer who was convicted of murdering George Floyd, has been transferred to a new federal prison after surviving a stabbing last year while incarcerated, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
Chauvin, 48, was transferred to Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) Big Spring in Texas, on Aug. 20, a spokesperson for the Federal Bureau of Prisons confirmed to PEOPLE on Aug. 21. The spokesperson declined to comment as to why Chauvin was transferred to the low-security prison.
Chauvin was sentenced in June 2021 to 22.5 years in state prison — or 270 months — after being convicted on state charges of murder and manslaughter in connection with the killing of Floyd.
On May 25, 2020, Floyd, 46, was seen in viral bystander video on the ground with his hands cuffed behind him as Chauvin pinned his knee to Floyd’s neck for about nine minutes.
“I can’t breathe,” and “They’re going to kill me,” were among the unarmed man’s last words before he lost consciousness and died at a local hospital. Floyd had been detained by Chauvin and three other officers — who have also been convicted for their roles — after allegedly using a counterfeit $20 bill at a Minneapolis market.
Minnesota Department of Corrections via Getty; Facebook
Chauvin also pleaded guilty to a federal charge of violating Floyd’s civil rights and was sentenced to 21 years behind bars. His sentences are running concurrently.
Chauvin was previously serving his time at the Federal Correctional Institution in Tucson, Ariz., a medium-security prison. It was there that he survived the stabbing at the hands of another inmate on Nov. 24, 2023.
Federal authorities have accused John Turscak of stabbing Chauvin 22 times with “an improvised knife,” PEOPLE previously reported.
According to the Associated Press, prosecutors said Turscak allegedly told investigators that he attacked Chauvin on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, as a symbolic connection to the Black Lives Matter movement and the “Black Hand” symbol associated with the Mexican Mafia gang.
Tursack faces federal charges of attempted murder, assault with intent to commit murder, assault with a dangerous weapon, and assault resulting in serious bodily injury, the United States Attorney’s Office previously said. It’s unclear if he has entered a plea to the charges.
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On Tuesday, Thomas Lane, another former Minneapolis police officer, became the first officer convicted in Floyd’s killing to be released from prison, a spokesperson for the Federal Bureau of Prisons confirmed to PEOPLE.
He had completed a 2.5-year federal sentence earlier this year and according to CNN, was serving a three-year state sentence for aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter.
A spokesperson for the Minnesota Department of Corrections told PEOPLE that Lane now must serve one year of supervised release.
Like Lane, two other ex-officers were convicted of a federal charge of violating Floyd’s civil rights. Tou Thao and J. Alexander Kueng were ordered in July 2022 to serve 42 months and 36 months in federal prison, respectively, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.