CBS News is walking back a report of a man who worked at a Minneapolis nightclub and claimed Derek Chauvin and George Floyd knew each other "pretty well" and had "bumped heads" over Chauvin's treatment of black patrons. The man who spoke to CBS News now says that he mistook Floyd for another black co-worker.
The man, David Pinney, originally told CBS News that he worked at the same nightclub alongside Geroge Floyd and former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who's charged with killing Floyd during an arrest on May 25. CBS News aired part of Pinney's interview on Tuesday night, in which Pinney claimed Floyd and Chauvin had "bumped heads" during their employment at the nightclub.
On Wednesday, CBS News received an email from Pinney explaining how Pinney had mistaken Floyd for another black co-worker. Pinney apologized for his lack of "due diligence" and for placing CBS News "in a very uncomfortable situation." Pinney did stand by his claim, however, that Derek Chauvin was "extremely aggressive" during his employment at the club.
Investigators are looking into whether Chauvin and Floyd knew each other and, if so, what the relationship between the two men was like, according to CBS News. A lawyer for the Floyd family has called for Derek Chauvin, currently charged with second-degree murder, to face a charge of first-degree murder based on the family's belief that Chauvin "knew who George Floyd was."
There is a lot we still don't know about Floyd's death and Chauvin's actions. Was Chauvin a violent man, towards blacks and whites alike? Was it only a matter of time before Chauvin's aggressiveness led to a tragic event like this? Was there a motive stemming from a personal relationship between Floyd and Chauvin?
Despite many of these questions left unanswered, violent protests have erupted all over the country based on the premise that Floyd's death was the result of racism. Maybe we should wait for all the facts to come in before we start defunding the police.