George Floyd did not get along with the now-fired Minneapolis police officer charged with killing him while the two worked at a nightclub, according to a former coworker.
Floyd and Derek Chauvin used to work at El Nuevo Rodeo, and their former colleague, David Pinney, claimed in a Tuesday interview with CBS Evening News that the men “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,” Pinney said.
He also affirmed that there is no doubt in his mind that the two knew each other, saying Chauvin knew Floyd “pretty well” when pressed.
Maya Santamaria, the owner of the bar, previously came forward and revealed that Floyd, who died after Chauvin pinned a knee on his neck for nearly nine minutes while arresting him, and the former officer “were working together.”
The owner was also interviewed for an upcoming CBS special “Justice for All,” in which she claimed that Chauvin “was afraid and intimidated” of black people. Santamaria explained that Chauvin was paid to sit outside in his squad car while he was off-duty for 17 years while Floyd worked as a security guard inside the club. They had overlapping shifts on Tuesday nights during the club’s popular weekly dance competition.
Chauvin has been arrested and charged with second-degree murder and third-degree manslaughter. Three other officers involved in Floyd’s apprehension have been charged with aiding and abetting murder.
The Floyd family lawyer has called for the charges to be upped to first-degree murder “because we believe he knew who George Floyd was.”
UPDATE: Pinney retracted his story about tension between Floyd and Chauvin on Wednesday, telling CBS News that the man he believed was Floyd was actually a different black man who worked at the bar.
