Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara is shooting down rumors that President Donald Trump may pardon former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin for his federal conviction of killing George Floyd five years ago in May of 2020.
"There is absolutely no credible information we have to suggest that's going to happen," says O'Hara.
Chauvin was sentenced to 21 years in federal prison for violating George Floyd's civil rights, adding to his existing state sentence of 22.5 years murdering Floyd after a jury found him guilty in Hennepin County in 2021.
O'Hara says rumors about Trump possibly pardoning former officer Derek Chauvin for killing Floyd are in fact just rumors at this point. Still, O'Hara says they have discussed what would happen if a pardon came down from the Oval Office.
KSTP-TV recently ran a story about local leaders including O'Hara, Governor Tim Walz, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Hennepin County Sheriff Dawanna Witt meeting to discuss the possibility.
"Of course, because there's all these rumors. We've been in communication with our partners at the state at the federal level to ensure that we and all of our partners are prepared in the event that something like that happens and it causes some type of civil disturbance," O'Hara explained. "But to be clear, there is no credible information that something like that is imminent."
The rumors are mostly without any real credibility at this point. The death of Floyd happened during President Trump's first term, and at the time the president was critical of how police handled the incident.
“All Americans were rightly sickened and revolted by the brutal death of George Floyd. My administration is fully committed that, for George and his family, justice will be served. He will not have died in vain,” the president said in 2020.
Two weeks ago, Trump was again asked about the Chauvin case and said he wasn't even thinking about it. That came after some calls for a pardon as the death of Floyd approached a five year anniversary. Far right Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene was the most recent to for Chauvin's release.
"No, I haven't even heard about it," Trump said. "I haven't heard of that."
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison oversaw the prosecution of Chauvin in 2021 and he told WCCO's Chad Hartman even today, people are debating what actually killed Floyd. Ellison says the evidence they presented to the jury was clear.
"What killed George Floyd was him being deprived of oxygen and being unable to breathe because of the subdue and restraint," says Ellison. "But you still have people say, 'oh well, he had fentanyl in his blood.' He did. I would say is just read and watch, you know, actually watch the testimony of the pulmonologist who is the nation's leading pulmonologist, Dr. (Martin) Tobin, who explains in careful detail exactly how the deprivation of oxygen resulted in the death of George Floyd. And because of that, he lost his life within a fairly short period of time."
"Yes, a healthy person subjected to what Mr. Floyd was subjected to would have died as a result of what he was subjected," Tobin told the court during his testimony in 2021.
Chauvin's currently at a federal prison in Texas. Even if the president did pardon Chauvin for his federal conviction, it doesn't mean he would be free. Chauvin would likely return to Minnesota to serve out the remainder of his state conviction, something the President of the United States does not have the power to overturn.
Under his current sentencing, Chauvin would be scheduled for release from federal prison in 2037. His state custody would end in 2035 but Chauvin would still be placed under supervision until 2043.