Officer accused of killing George Floyd remains eligible for pension if convicted of murder

MINNEAPOLIS — Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer accused of killing George Floyd, could still receive upward of $1 million in pension benefits – even if he is convicted of murder.

Chauvin, 44, and three other officers were fired following the May 25 death of Floyd, who had been detained after being accused of using a counterfeit $20 bill in a nearby store. Cellphone footage from a passerby showed Chauvin kneeling on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes as Floyd, 46, begged for him to stop, saying he couldn’t breathe.

Floyd repeatedly cried out for his mother before he died.

According to the Hennepin County medical examiner, Floyd died of cardiac arrest brought on by the combination of police restraint, underlying heart disease and drugs in his system. An independent autopsy ordered by his family, however, suggested that Floyd died of asphyxiation from sustained pressure on his neck and back.

Chauvin, who had more than a dozen complaints of misconduct in his personnel record prior to Floyd’s death, was arrested May 29 and charged with third-degree murder. That charge has since been upgraded to second-degree murder.

>> Related story: How is second-degree murder different from third-degree murder in Minnesota?

The other officers, J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao, were arrested June 3 and charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder.

Floyd’s death has set off protests, some of them violent, in cities across the U.S. and abroad.

Minnesota Public Employees Retirement Association officials said in a statement on the association’s webpage that they are required to administer police and firefighter pension plans in accordance with Minnesota state law.

CNN reported that, while some states have laws in which employees convicted of felonies forfeit their pensions, Minnesota is not one of those states.

Being fired also does not affect benefits.

“Terminated employees remain eligible for a refund of their employee contributions or a deferred benefit if they meet length-of-service requirements, regardless of whether termination of employment was voluntary or involuntary,” the statement from the association read. “Under state law, being charged or convicted of a crime does not impact a member’s benefit.

“The benefit may only be changed via legislative action.”

Employees terminated either voluntarily or for cause remain eligible for benefits unless they choose to forfeit the benefit and receive a refund of their contributions, a spokesperson told CNN.

“Neither our board nor our staff have the discretion to increase, decrease, deny or revoke benefits,” the spokesperson told the network.

A CNN analysis found that, based on Chauvin’s time on the force, 2019 payroll data, Minneapolis Police Department salary schedules and additional data, Chauvin’s benefits could equal up to $1.5 million over a 30-year span. Chauvin was hired by the department in 2001, according to The Washington Post.

Thao is also eligible for a pension. Kueng and Lane, both rookie officers, are not.

Pensions in Minnesota are partially funded by taxpayers, CNN said.

Cox Media Group