A photo shows Donald Trump with “Derek Chauvin - the cop who killed George Floyd.”
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Police say the officer on stage with Trump isn’t Derek Chauvin
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- Lt. Bob Kroll, president of the Minneapolis Police Union who spoke at the October rally for Donald Trump, said the officer in the photo isn’t Derek Chauvin.
In video footage taken before he died on May 25, George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, repeats that he "can’t breathe" as a white Minneapolis police officer presses his knee into Floyd’s neck.
That officer, who has been identified as Derek Chauvin, and three other officers who were at the scene have been fired. Chauvin, a 19-year-veteran of the Minneapolis Police Department, has been involved in several police-involved shootings, the Star Tribune reported. On social media, people are sharing a photo that seemingly adds another layer to his history.
"Hey look," reads the caption of a photo that shows several people on a stage with President Donald Trump. A yellow arrow points to a man standing near him, behind a podium with the presidential seal. "Here’s a picture of Derek Chauvin - the cop who killed George Floyd."
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A Fox News affiliate in Minneapolis reported on May 27 that neither Chauvin nor the other three officers were at the October campaign rally in Minneapolis that’s shown in the photo being shared online.
Lt. Bob Kroll, the president of the Minneapolis Police Union, spoke at the rally, according to the station. Kroll, who is standing next to the man in the photo social media users have fingered as Chauvin, said it’s a different officer.
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Our Sources
Tweet, May 27 2020
Facebook post, May 27, 2020
The New York Times, What we know about the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, May 27, 2020
Star Tribune, What we know about Derek Chauvin and Tou Thao, two of the officers caught on tape in the death of George Floyd, May 26, 2020
Fox 9, Photo of officer on stage at Minneapolis Trump rally not officer involved in George Floyd’s death, May 27, 2020
KARE 11, Pres. trump brings Mpls. police Lt. Bob Kroll on stage, Oct. 10, 2019
C-SPAN, Mpls police on stage with Trump, May 26, 2020
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Police say the officer on stage with Trump isn’t Derek Chauvin
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