A co-worker at the nightclub where George Floyd and Minneapolis ex-policeman Derek Chauvin had both worked security says the two men had a history even before their fatal Memorial Day encounter.
Co-worker David Pinney told CBS News in an interview posted Wednesday that the two men not only definitely knew each other, something that had only been speculated about before, but also had “bumped heads.”
“It has a lot to do with Derek being extremely aggressive within the club with some of the patrons, which was an issue,” Mr. Pinney said.
The two men both worked Tuesday evening security at El Nuevo Rodeo, a club that was torched by the protests over Floyd’s death at the hands of Mr. Chauvin.
The Floyd family has sought first-degree murder charges against Mr. Chauvin, a charge that requires a degree of malicious forethought that doesn’t look to be supported by the infamous nine-minute video.
But it could be supportable if the two men had a previous quarrel, which the Floyds have said they did. Mr. Pinney’s certainty that they knew each other and had quarreled could support such a charge.
“Is there any doubt in your mind that Derek Chauvin knew George Floyd?” CBS News asked Mr. Pinney.
“No. He knew him,” the co-worker said, adding “I would say pretty well.”
Mr. Pinney isn’t the first person at El Nuevo Rodeo to imply a history of misbehavior by the officer at the club.
Owner Maya Santamaria, who paid Mr. Chauvin to park his car outside the club and sit for about 17 years, was asked by CBS News for its upcoming special “Justice for All” whether “Derek had a problem with black people?”
She replied: “I think he was afraid and intimidated.”
Floyd had worked as a security guard inside the club for about a year with the Chauvin overlap coming on Tuesday nights, she said.
• Victor Morton can be reached at vmorton@washingtontimes.com.
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