Two Minnesotans File Federal Civil Rights Suits Against Derek Chauvin

MINNEAPOLIS, MN — Minnesotans John Pope Jr. and Zoya Code on Tuesday filed federal civil rights lawsuits against the city of Minneapolis and former police officer Derek Chauvin, alleging that Chauvin used the same aggressive tactics on them in 2017 that he did during the encounter that killed George Floyd in 2020, the Associated Press reported.

Both plaintiffs, who are black, allege that Chauvin used the "signature move" of kneeling on their necks, and they suggest racism played a role in the use of force by Chauvin, who is white.

The suits seek unspecified damages and name other officers, according to the AP.

The lawsuits also claim that well before the Floyd encounter, the city had been aware of the officer's record of misconduct, but that Chauvin had been allowed to remain on the job.

If the MPD had disciplined Chauvin for previous incidents, "history could have been stopped from repeating itself with George Floyd," the lawsuit states.

Last June, Chauvin was sentenced to 22 1/2 years in prison after being convicted of state charges of murder and manslaughter in Floyd's May 2020 death. In Dec. 2021, Chauvin also pleaded guilty to violating Floyd's civil rights in a federal case, and the former officer now faces a sentence ranging from 20 to 25 years.

Peter Ginder, interim city attorney for Minneapolis, called the incidents involving Pope and Code "disturbing." Ginder said the city is considering settlements with the Plaintiffs, both of whom had criminal charges thrown out.

"We intend to move forward in negotiations with the Plaintiffs on these two matters and hope we can reach a reasonable settlement," Ginder said in a statement. "If a settlement cannot be reached on one or both lawsuits, the disputes will have to be resolved through the normal course of litigation."

The AP reported that both Pope and Code are represented by attorney Robert Bennett, who helped win large settlements in two other cases of excessive use of force by Twin Cities area officers: the deaths of Justine Damond and Philando Castile.

According to the Pope suit, the Plaintiff was just 14 when he encountered Chauvin in September 2017.

The suit suggests that Pope's mother was intoxicated when she called police on Pope and his 16-year-old sister for leaving their cellphone charges plugged in. A physical confrontation ensued.

Chauvin responded to the scene and allegedly struck Pope in the head multiple times with a metal flashlight. Then, Chauvin "used his signature move" allegedly pinning Pope down for over 15 minutes until Plaintiff yelled that he couldn't breathe, the suit says.

"He pinned (Pope) to the floor with his body weight, pressing his left knee into John's upper back and neck," according to the suit.

The suit alleges that at least eight other officers had an opportunity to intervene, and chose not to.

According to the suit, Chauvin also made false claims on his incident report, failing to mention the blows with the flashlight or to disclose exactly how long he pinned Pope to the ground.

Chauvin's use of force was approved by his superiors, even though they had "firsthand knowledge that the report had been false and misleading," the lawsuit alleges.

In the Code lawsuit, Chauvin reportedly responded to a call from Code's mother claiming she was being assaulted by her daughter, who had a history of mental illness and homelessness.

Chauvin and another officer allegedly handcuffed Code and then carried her outside when she refused to stand up.

At that point, according to the suit, Chauvin slammed Code's unprotected head on the ground and then put his knee onto the back of Code's neck for 4 minutes, 41 seconds, which the lawsuit called Chauvin's "signature pose."

The suit says that the second officer refused to intervene, and that Chauvin's superior later approved the use of force.