MINNEAPOLIS (AP) An attorney for Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer convicted of murdering George Floyd, said Saturday that Chauvins family has been kept in the dark by federal prison officials after he was stabbed in prison.

The lawyer, Gregory M. Erickson, slammed the lack of transparency by the Federal Bureau of Prisons a day after his client was stabbed on Friday by another inmate at the Federal Correctional Institution in Tucson, Arizona, a prison that has been plagued by security lapses and staffing shortages.

A person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press on Friday that Chauvin was seriously injured in the stabbing. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the attack. On Saturday, Brian Evans, a spokesperson for the Minnesota attorney generals office, said: We have heard that he is expected to survive.

Erickson said Chauvins family and his attorneys have hit a wall trying to obtain information about the attack from Bureau of Prisons officials. He said Chauvins family has been forced to assume he is in stable condition, based only on news accounts, and has been contacting the prison repeatedly seeking updates but have been provided with no information.

As an outsider, I view this lack of communication with his attorneys and family members as completely outrageous, Erickson said in a statement to the AP. It appears to be indicative of a poorly run facility and indicates how Dereks assault was allowed to happen.

Ericksons comments highlight concerns raised for years that federal prison officials provide little to no information to the loved ones of incarcerated people who are seriously injured or ill in federal custody. The AP has previously reported the Bureau of Prisons ignored its internal guidelines and failed to notify the families of inmates who were seriously ill with COVID-19 as the virus raged through federal prisons across the U.S.

The issue around family notification has also prompted federal legislation introduced last year in the U.S. Senate that would require the Justice Department to establish guidelines for the Federal Bureau of Prisons and state correctional systems to notify the families of incarcerated people if their loved one has a serious illness, a life-threatening injury or if they die behind bars.

How the family members who are in charge of Dereks decisions regarding his personal medical care and his emergency contact were not informed after his stabbing further indicates the institutions poor procedures and lack of institutional control, Erickson said of the prison.

A spokesperson for the Bureau of Prisons did not immediately respond to a request for comment Saturday evening.

The Bureau of Prisons has only confirmed an assault at the Arizona facility and said employees performed life-saving measures before the inmate was taken to a hospital for further treatment and evaluation. The Bureau of Prisons did not name the victim or provide a medical status for privacy and safety reasons.

Prosecutors who successfully pursued a second-degree murder conviction against Chauvin at a jury trial in 2021 expressed dismay that he became the target of violence while in federal custody.

Terrence Floyd, George Floyds brother, told the AP on Saturday that he wouldnt wish for anyone to be stabbed in prison and that he felt numb when he initially learned of the news.