Posts on social media have circulated a false theory about the wife of Derek Chauvin, the Minneapolis police officer who kept his knee on the neck of George Floyd. Chauvin’s wife, Kellie Chauvin, 45, was falsely referenced as the sister of one of the officers who took part in Floyd’s arrest.

“Tou Thao is NOT Ms. Chauvin’s brother. I would GREATLY appreciate help putting that rumor to rest,” Amanda Mason-Sekula, her divorce lawyer, said in an email. “Her family has been harassed and threatened based on multiple incorrect reports.”

Tou Thao, 37, was on duty and seen on camera as Derek Chauvin kneeled on Floyd, resulting in Floyd’s death. A lawyer for Thao told Minnesota's Star Tribune that Thao has left Minnesota, and is “safely elsewhere.”

Posts circulating the false claim provided images of Derek and Kellie Chauvin, along with Thao. Both Kellie Chauvin and Thao are Asian, and belong to Minneapolis’ Hmong community.

Hmong people originate from southern China, Vietnam and Laos. Many Hmong Americans emigrated to the U.S. as refugees.

Kellie Chauvin, a realtor, is currently unemployed. In 2018, she was crowned Mrs. Minnesota, the first woman of Hmong descent to be given the title. Kellie Chauvin filed for divorce from Derek Chauvin last week after he was charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.

Sahan Journal, a Minnesota-based news outlet covering the state's refugees and immigrants, has reported that the Hmong and Asian community in Minneapolis has been targeted due to Thao’s involvement in the killing.

“There are already high tensions [between Asian and African Americans]," local Hmong journalist Hlee Lee-Kron told the news outlet, “and I’m concerned that it’s really going to build a permanent damage between us.”

An independent autopsy on Monday revealed that Floyd died due to "asphyxiation from sustained pressure." Compression on Floyd’s neck resulted in a lack of blood flow to his brain, the report said.

RELATED STORIES
China