Former police officer Derek Chauvin stabbed 22 times by prison inmate in US state of Arizona

Derek Chauvin, the former US police officer who is serving a 22 year sentence for the killing of George Floyd, was stabbed 22 times by a fellow inmate at a Tucson, Arizona federal prison, according to court documents released Friday.

Investigators said the attack happened one week ago on Nov. 24 and that Chauvin, 47, was stabbed with an improvised knife while in the prison's law library.

The US Attorney's Office has charged John Turscak, 52, with attempted murder, assault with intent to commit murder, assault with a dangerous weapon and assault resulting in serious bodily injury, according to a criminal complaint.

Officials said Turscak told corrections officers that he would have killed Chauvin had they not responded as quickly as they did.

Chauvin was one of four former Minneapolis police officers convicted in Floyd's May 2020 killing in the state of Minnesota. Chauvin kneeled on Floyd's neck for nearly 10 minutes as he cried out "I can't breathe" until he died.

Chauvin's attorney, Greg Erickson, told the WCCO television station that his family was "extremely disappointed they allowed this to happen" and that it was "not shocking" that someone would target Chauvin because of his high profile conviction.

Officials have not indicated whether Chauvin will be transferred to a different federal prison in the wake of the stabbing.