Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, convicted in the 2020 murder of George Floyd, is making a another effort to overturn his federal civil rights conviction.
Chauvin, currently serving a 21-year sentence in a federal prison in Arizona, filed a motion in federal court this week, claiming that new evidence suggests he did not cause Floyd's death in Minnesota.
Chauvin asserts that he would not have pleaded guilty in 2021 if he had been aware of the theories presented by Dr. William Schaetzel, a Kansas pathologist based in Topeka, whom he had consulted within February of that year.
Despite not physically examining Floyd's body, Dr. Schaetzel contends that Floyd died from complications of a rare tumor called a paraganglioma, which can lead to a fatal surge of adrenaline.
Chauvin insists that had the jury heard this evidence, they would not have convicted him.
The motion, filed without legal representation, requests the judge to dismiss Chauvin's civil rights conviction, order a new trial, or, at the very least, hold a hearing for the presentation of the purported new evidence.
Chauvin argues that crucial information, including Dr. Schaetzel's conclusions, autopsy reports, toxicology reports, and the MPD Use of Force policy, was withheld from him prior to his guilty plea in December 2021.
Chauvin's federal appeals have faced rejection twice, and he awaits the U.S. Supreme Court's decision on whether it will hear his appeal of his state court murder conviction.
In July 2022, he received a 21-year sentence on federal charges related to violating Floyd's rights, following a plea deal. At his sentencing, Chauvin briefly addressed Floyd's family without offering an apology, and protests erupted worldwide after Floyd's death, sparking a national conversation on police brutality and racism.
