'They were working together': Bar owner says George Floyd and Derek Chauvin worked for her as security guards by Spencer Neale | May 28, 2020 10:56 PM | Updated May 29, 2020, 01:49 AM
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A Minneapolis bar owner claims both George Floyd and Derek Chauvin, the officer who subdued Floyd with his knee, worked as security guards for her business.
Maya Santamaria told ABC 5 News reporter Eric Rasmussen that she was shocked to realize that two former employees of her south Minneapolis bar were involved in a deadly altercation that has led to riots and protests.
"They were working together at the same time," Santamaria said. "What if he could've just said, 'Hey man, you and I have worked together at Maya's place. ... Remember me?'"
Floyd died Tuesday after sustaining injuries from a police arrest during which Chauvin placed his knee on Floyd's neck.
Santamaria said she did not recognize either of the men initially from the cellphone footage but later confirmed that both of the men did, in fact, work for her during overlapping periods of employment.
"My friend said, 'This is your guy, the guy who used to work for you,' and I kept saying, 'It's not him,' and then, they did the close-up, and that's when I said, 'Oh my God, that's him!'" Santamaria said, speaking of Chauvin.
Santamaria, who clarified that she was unsure whether the two men knew each other, said that Chauvin had a "short fuse" and was quick to escalate situations at the bar.
"He sometimes had a real short fuse, and he seemed afraid when there was an altercation. He always resorted to pulling out his mace and pepper-spraying everybody right away, even when I felt it was unwarranted," Santamaria added.
Santamaria said she didn't initially recognize Floyd when she saw the video but immediately knew he was a former employee when she saw pictures of him on the news.
"I didn't recognize George as one of our security guards because he looked really different lying there like that," said Santamaria. "It wasn't until I saw the pictures of him come up. Then, it snapped."
ABC News 5 reached out to both the Minneapolis Police Department and Chauvin's attorney but did not receive a response from either party. News Minnesota Crime Minneapolis
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