Update: CBS News said Thursday that David Pinney emailed the news outlet two days after their report to recant his account. He said he confused Floyd with another former employee, but stood by his characterization of Chauvin as overly aggressive. A Cheat Sheet item on Wednesday reported Pinney said the two “bumped heads” on the job.
A Minneapolis man who said George Floyd and Derek Chauvin had a history of altercations at the nightclub where they all worked has changed his story to CBS News, saying that he confused Floyd with “another unnamed African-American colleague.” It was previously known that Floyd and Chauvin worked security at the club at the same time, but former coworker David Pinney told CBS Evening News on Tuesday that has said it was clear the two didn’t get along.“They bumped heads... It has a lot to do with Derek being extremely aggressive within the club with some of the patrons, which was an issue.”
In an email to CBS News on Wednesday, Pinney said he was connected with CBS by the club’s former owner, Maya Santamaria, who he said was “unable to give detail information about George because she did not have a close relationship with him as I did,” which he claims led to his mistake. “I apologize for not doing my due diligence and placing you in a very uncomfortable situation,” he wrote. Pinney said he stands by his characterization of Chauvin as “extremely aggressive within the club.”
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Floyd’s lawyer has called for Chauvin to be charged with first-degree murder because, he alleges, the fired police officer knew who Floyd was when he kneeled on his neck. Floyd’s family has also said that they believe the fatal incident was partly personal. Santamaria told CBS on Tuesday that she believes Chauvin was “afraid and intimidated” by black people.
Read it at CBS News
