Minority Corrections Officers Barred From Guarding Derek Chauvin Settle Discrimination Lawsuit For Nearly $1.5 Million
The Ramsey County Board of Commissioners in Minnesota settled a racial discrimination lawsuit on Tuesday (Aug. 9) from a group of minority correctional officers who were barred from guarding Derek Chauvin, the white former Minneapolis cop found guilty of murdering George Floyd during a 2020 arrest.
NBC News reports that the officials approved a $1.45 million payout to the eight officers who identify as Black, Hispanic, Pacific Islander American and multiracial. The lawsuit said that then-jail Superintendent Steve Lydon of the Ramsey County Adult Detention Center in St. Paul prohibited the officers from even being on the same floor where Chauvin was incarcerated.
"Our goal in bringing attention to the segregation order was to ensure Ramsey County was held accountable for its discriminatory actions and practices. We hope the County and Detention Center will continue working toward overall culture changes that create a safe and welcoming work environment for all," the officers said Tuesday in a joint statement, adding that Lydon’s actions broke their trust..
Chauvin, who was caught on a viral video kneeling on the neck of the handcuffed Floyd for more than nine minutes, was arrested on May 29 and taken to the jail on murder and manslaughter charges.
According to the lawsuit, Lydon reassigned officers of color to another floor of the facility to keep them away from the ex-cop. His actions were based on “the color of their skin” and prevented them from doing their job.
The suit also alleges that a white lieutenant gave Chauvin special treatment. Two of the officers viewing security cameras at the facility said they saw the lieutenant enter Chauvin’s cell and pat his back “while appearing to comfort him" and let him use a cellphone.
When several of the officers questioned the superintendent about his decision, Lydon “denied he was racist and defended his decision," the lawsuit said.
Lydon, who was later removed from his position, told his superiors that he made his decision about the officers 10 minutes after he was first told that Chauvin would be held in the facility, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune. He made a call “to protect and support” minority employees by shielding them from Chauvin.
A state judge sentenced Chauvin in June 2021 to 22½ years in prison. Chauvin also pleaded guilty to federal charges of violating Floyd's civil rights and was sentenced in July to just more than 20 years in that case, with the two sentences running concurrently.
