Former club owner says victim and Minneapolis cop who knelt on his neck before his death COULD have crossed paths on the job – Officer Derek Chauvin and George Floyd worked together at the same Minneapolis club just months earlier
George Floyd and the cop seen kneeling on his neck moments before he died in custody on Monday both worked security at her business until the end of last year
Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was fired after video footage emerged of him kneeling on the neck of George Floyd, 46, before his death on Monday
Floyd was killed when four MPD officers were arresting him Floyd for allegedly passing out a forged $20 bill
The death of Floyd, an African American, seen in several videos pleading for his life while face down and handcuffed, has sparked protests and riots across the country
As the city burned, a Minneapolis club owner has revealed that Chauvin and Floyd worked for her – as security guards at the El Nuevo Rodeo club
The former club owner isn’t sure the two men knew each other since there were around two dozen security guards, working at her club on any given night
However, there were occasions when they would have been working at the same event, she said
Maya Santamaria who employed Chauvin working as off-duty officer at her club for 17 years remarked that he had a short fuse and would resort to excessive force in situations
George Floyd [left], the African American man who died in police custody in Minneapolis on Monday, and Derek Chauvin [right], the officer filmed killing him, kneeling on Floyd’s neck until he lost consciousness, worked as security guards in a local club, according to the ex-owner
The former owner of the Minneapolis club says that both George Floyd and the police officer seen kneeling on his neck moments before he died in custody on Monday both worked security at her business until the end of last year.
‘Chauvin was our off-duty police for almost the entirety of the 17 years that we were open,’ Maya Santamaria said in an interview with KSTP-TV.
Santamaria said that she is not sure if the two men knew each other since there were some two dozen security guards, including off-duty officers, working at her club on any given night.
But she revealed there were occasions when they would have been working at the same event.
‘They were working together at the same time, it’s just that Chauvin worked outside and the security guards were inside.’
Former club owner Maya Santamaria [photo], who employed both the victim and the cop accused of killing him at her club, said Chauvin worked as an off-duty police officer for 17 years
Maya Santamaria was the owner of the El Nuevo Rodeo, [photo], a club in Minneapolis just a few blocks from the 3rd precinct where Floyd and Chauvin most likely crossed paths working as security guards
Santamaria was the owner of the El Nuevo Rodeo, a club in Minneapolis just a few blocks from the 3rd precinct
According to Santamaria, Chauvin had a tendency to flash his temper and overreact to situations.
‘He sometimes had a real short fuse and he seemed afraid,’ she said.
‘When there was an altercation he always resorted to pulling out his mace and pepper spraying everybody right away, even if I felt it was unwarranted.’
Santamaria wondered if Monday’s incident could have turned out differently if Chauvin recognized Floyd from their days working at her club.
‘What if he could’ve just said “Hey, man, you and I worked together at Maya’s place. Remember me?”’ she said.
Floyd moved to Minneapolis from Houston sometime around 2014, according to the Chicago Tribune. He moved up north after spending five years in prison for his part in a home invasion.
He had also worked as a bouncer for a nearby restaurant, the Conga Latin Bistro.
Santamaria said that she did not initially recognize either of the men in the now-infamous video showing Chauvin kneeling on Floyd’s neck.
Santamaria said that she didn’t recognized either of the men in the now-infamous video showing Chauvin kneeling on Floyd’s neck, but she did recognize them when they did a closeup
‘And then they did the closeup and that’s when I said, “Oh my God, that’s him”,’ Santamaria said.
‘I didn’t recognize George as one of our security guys because he looked really different lying there like that.’
Officer Derek Chauvin had a very short fuse Maya Santamaria who employed him as an off duty cop for 17 years, told kstp-tv
She still owns and operates a radio station, 95.7FM La Raza, which is located in the same building.
The building, which is without power due to ongoing protests, is just two blocks east of the Minneapolis Police Department’s Third Precinct, which was set on fire by rioters as officers fled the building in their squad cars.
Several businesses in the area have also been affected, as glass doors and windows have been shattered. Many of the buildings are now covered in graffiti.
‘All of the neighborhood has come out to volunteer and clean up and lend a hand,’ Santamaria said.
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