Former Minneapolis police officer and accused murderer Derek Chauvin is currently being kept in hiding by judicial authorities in Hennepin County, Minnesota.
Charged on various counts–including third- and second-degree (felony) murder–over the controversial death of George Floyd earlier this year, Chauvin was released from jail after posting a non-cash $1 million bond signed by A-Affordable Bail Bonds of Brainerd, Minnesota on Wednesday.
A Friday order by the District Court for Minnesota’s Fourth Judicial District outlines some new conditions for the defendant’s release.
Premised on “safety concerns” that have “arisen in [Chauvin’s] pretrial conditional release,” the court–along with the defense and the prosecution by way of a legal process known as a “stipulation“–agreed to effectively keep the defendant under wraps for the foreseeable future–likely until his trial begins in March 2021.
According to the court’s order, Chauvin currently “has no permanent address” and “his address should be listed in that manner” in the state’s court information system.
Chauvin won’t be allowed to maintain his lack of an address in perpetuity–but he doesn’t have to stay in the Land of 10,000 Lakes either–the court instructed him to “establish residency somewhere in the State of Minnesota or a contiguous state as soon as possible.”
The defendant was further also instructed to “immediately report” his new address to his pre-trial release officer.
That address won’t make it into the state’s system, of course, but will be shared “as necessary” within the Minnesota Department of Corrections, Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office Court Security Division and “with the local police department and county sheriff’s office” where Chauvin eventually ends up living prior to his trial.
“Anyone with knowledge of the Defendant’s residence address shall keep it confidential, except that information may be shared within agencies on a need-to-know basis.” the court order notes.
Chauvin is also mandated to have a cell phone–and answer his calls:
Defendant shall obtain a mobile phone which is to be operations and on his person at all times. Defendant shall maintain cellular service at all times so that his [pre-trial release officer] or other representatives of the Minnesota Department of Corrections may contact him at any time. Defendant shall answer all calls from the Minnesota Department of Corrections.
Additional conditions of Chauvin’s bond include a “surrender [of] any passports” to his pre-trial release officer “as soon as possible.” He will also be subject to the “normal practices” of Hennepin County’s corrections and rehabilitation department. The court says the high-profile alleged murder will not be subject to “greater or less restrictions than would normally be imposed” on a defendant.
Chauvin, 44, was charged in May as the lead defendant in the death of 46-year-old Floyd which sparked the largest anti-police brutality and racial justice protests in world history. According to prosecutors, Chauvin kneeled on the Floyd’s neck during an arrest for eight minutes and 46 seconds, even after the Floyd became unresponsive.
[image via Minnesota Department of Corrections]
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