Chauvin received a medal for valor in 2006 for being one of several officers who fired on a suspect who pointed a shotgun at them, and another in 2008 for a domestic violence incident in which he broke down a door and shot the suspect who reached for Chauvin's gun. He received a commendation medal in 2008 after he and his partner tackled a fleeing suspect holding a pistol. In 2009, Chauvin received another commendation medal after apprehending a group of gang members while working as an off-duty security guard at a Minneapolis nightclub.