George Floyd, Derek Chauvin ‘bumped heads’ while working together at nightclub before fatal arrest: report

George Floyd, left, and ex-cop Derek Chauvin worked at the same nightclub at the same time.

The ties between George Floyd and Derek Chauvin were abrasive long before the police officer kneeled on Floyd’s neck until he died, according to a former coworker.

The two Minnesota men “bumped heads” at El Nuevo Rodeo, a Minneapolis nightclub where they worked together, David Pinney told CBS News.

“It has a lot to do with Derek being extremely aggressive within the club with some of the patrons, which was an issue,” Pinney said, claiming the two men knew each other “pretty well.”

Club owner Maya Santamaria previously told KSTP that she had paid Chauvin to sit outside in his police car during his off-hours for almost 17 years. Floyd, she said, worked inside as a security guard.

Santamaria told CBS News that she believed Chauvin was “afraid and intimidated” by black people.

Chauvin has since been fired from the Minneapolis Police Department and charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter in Floyd’s May 25 death.

Three other officers have also been fired and charged with aiding and abetting murder.

Floyd’s death has caused ripple effects around the country, both in widespread anti-police brutality protests and in police reform, including multiple departments banning chokehold arrests.

Ben Crump, the attorney representing Floyd’s family, has called for Chauvin’s charges to be upgraded to first-degree murder after learning that the two men knew each other.