Man Who Said George Floyd and Derek Chauvin Knew Each Other Now Says He Confused Floyd With Someone Else

A man who previously stated that George Floyd and Derek Chauvin knew each other, has changed his story and stating that there was a "mix-up between George and another fellow co-worker."

David Pinney worked at the El Nuevo Rodeo club in Minneapolis and recently told CBS Evening News that Chauvin and Floyd also worked there and "bumped heads," while working the same shift. Chauvin is the former Minneapolis police officer charged in Floyd's death while in police custody on May 25.

Despite Pinney's previous comments, on Wednesday he sent an email to CBS News saying that he had confused Floyd with someone else. Maya Santamaria, the former owner of the El Nuevo Rodeo club, first connected Pinney with the news outlet.

"She [Santamaria] specifically said she was unable to give detail information about George because she did not have a close relationship with him as I did," Pinney wrote in his email, suggesting that this was one of the reasons he confused Floyd with someone else.

"I apologize for not doing my due diligence and placing you in a very uncomfortable situation," Pinney added.

In previous interviews, both Pinney and Santamaria expressed confidence that Floyd and Chauvin worked together at the club.

"They were working together at the same time, it's just that Chauvin worked outside and the security guards were inside," Santamaria told KSTP News. "My friend sent me [the video] and said, 'this is [Chauvin], the guy who used to work for you,' and I said, 'It's not him.' And then they did the close-up, and that's when I said, 'Oh my God, that's him.'"

During Pinney's interview with CBS, he was asked, "Is there any doubt in your mind that Derek Chauvin knew George Floyd?" to which he responded, "No. He knew him."

In addition to stating that the two worked together and knew each other, Santamaria explained that Chauvin "had a real short fuse and he seemed afraid."

"When there was an altercation, he always resorted to pulling out his Mace pepper spray everybody right away even though I felt it was unwarranted," Santamaria added.

While speaking to CBS News, Santamaria also stated that she believed Chauvin was "afraid and intimidated," by black people.

Prior to Pinney stating that he confused Floyd with someone else, Ben Crump, the lawyer for Floyd's family also spoke to CBS News about how he thinks Chauvin should be charged with first-degree murder as he knew Floyd. Chauvin is currently charged with second-degree murder, as he is seen in multiple videos kneeling on Floyd's neck while Floyd can be heard repeatedly saying that he can't breathe.

"That is going to be an interesting aspect to this case and hopefully upgrading these charges to first-degree murder because we believe he knew who George Floyd was," Crump said.

Newsweek reached out to the El Nuevo Rodeo club for comment but did not receive a response in time for publication.