‘I apologize for not doing my due diligence…’
(Joshua Paladino, Liberty Headlines) The man who said George Floyd and ex-cop Derek Chauvin had a “history of friction” has retracted his story, saying he had mistaken Floyd for another black coworker, WCNC reported.
“There has been a mix up between George and another fellow co-worker,” said David Pinney, Floyd and Chauvin’s former coworker.
Pinney apologized to CBS News, the media outlet that first ran the story.
“I apologize for not doing my due diligence and placing you in a very uncomfortable situation,” he said.
Pinney said he stands by his assessment of Chauvin as a man who was “extremely aggressive within the club.”
Pinney’s claims attracted media attention because they turned Floyd’s death into more than a random act of police violence.
Before recognizing that he had mistaken their identities, Pinney said Floyd and Chauvin “bumped heads.”
This gave some credibility to Black Lives Matter’s demand that Minneapolis Attorney General Keith Ellison charge Chauvin with first-degree murder, which requires evidence that the killing was premeditated.
The case of mistaken identity calls into question Pinney’s other allegations.
He portrayed Chauvin as a villain and Floyd as a calm professional at the nightclub where they both worked.
“…he always showed aggression to, you know, George,” Pinney said. “So George, to keep it professional, George had me intervene and – interface with him instead of himself, just to be – just to get away from the conflict and keep it professional.”
“I can relate to George, how he felt,” he continued. “And I think that’s what makes that personal bond between him and I, dealing with Derek.”
The Minneapolis AG has charged Chauvin with second-degree murder.
Floyd’s family and their lawyer have joined BLM in calling for a first-degree murder charge because they believe Chauvin “knew who George Floyd was” and harbored personal animosity when he allegedly murdered him.