*Black officers in Minnesota have been barred from interacting with Derek Chauvin, who is being held on a second-degree murder charge in the death of George Floyd.
Eight Ramsey County corrections officers have filed discrimination charges with the state’s Department of Human Rights after they were reportedly told by a supervisor that their race could be a “liability” around Chauvin, the Star Tribune reports.
The officers claim they were prohibited from guarding or coming into contact with Chauvin in late May. They were also assigned to a different floor.
“I understood that the decision to segregate us had been made because we could not be trusted to carry out our work responsibilities professionally around the high-profile inmate—solely because of the color of our skin,” a Black acting sergeant wrote in the racial discrimination charges, per Complex. “I am not aware of a similar situation where white officers were segregated from an inmate.”
Jail Superintendent Steve Lydon said he only had a 10-minute notice that Chauvin was going to be booked and held at the facility on May 29.
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Minnesota jail accused of bias in allowing only white officers to guard Derek Chauvin.
Discrimination complaint says corrections personnel of color were barred from floor where officer accused in George Floyd death was held: @NBCNews. https://t.co/TznvsQKOts— Shomari Stone (@shomaristone) June 21, 2020
Lydon’s decision to ban Black officers was in effort “to protect and support” them from Chauvin.
“Recognizing that the murder of George Floyd was likely to create particularly acute racialized trauma, I felt I had an immediate duty to protect and support employees who may have been traumatized and may have heightened ongoing trauma by having to deal with Chauvin,” Lydon said.
“Out of care and concern, and without the comfort of time, I made the decision to limit exposure to employees of color to a murder suspect who could potentially aggravate those feelings,” he added.
“I think they deserve to have employment decisions made based on performance and behavior,” said Bonnie Smith, the attorney representing the eight officers. “Their main goal is to make sure this never happens again.”
Sheriff Bob Fletcher is reviewing the matter to determine what, if any, actions are necessary, CBS Minnesota reports.
Meanwhile, Chauvin’s bail is 1.25 million.
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