A Minneapolis man who attempted to run over a firefighter with his vehicle was released from custody Monday with zero bail required by Hennepin County Judge Regina Chu.
According to a criminal complaint, 52-year-old Shawn Coates was following a woman in his pickup truck when she approached a Minneapolis fire station for help. One of the firefighters on duty directed the woman to “go into the fire station for safety” and told Coates to “move on.”
Coates didn’t take this well. He called the firefighter a “motherf–,” began spinning his tires, and eventually tried to run over the firefighter with his truck.
“Defendant actually turned the vehicle to Victim’s direction and drove his vehicle into the fire station garage doors. Victim had to move out of the way and step behind a garage door pillar to not be hit. Firefighters had to use an axe and other tools to disable the vehicle to stop Defendant from driving,” the criminal complaint says.
But Coates didn’t stop there. He got out of his crashed vehicle, entered the fire station, and “squared up” to fight a fire captain. It was at this point that he was tackled to the ground by one of the first responders.
“You guys are pieces of s–, I’m coming back for you,” he shouted as a group of firefighters pinned him to the ground.
Coates continued to demonstrate erratic behavior after his arrest and was heard “yelling loudly inside the jail through the heavy jail walls and door.” It took several deputies to “hold and detain him,” the complaint states.
Judge Chu decided to release Coates from custody Monday with zero bail required, Crime Watch Minneapolis first reported. Coates has been charged with two counts of attempted fourth-degree assault, one count of threats of violence, and one count of third-degree damage to property.
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After trying to run over a fire fighter, entering the fire station and squaring up to fight the fire captain and crashing his vehicle into Fire Station 8, Judge Regina Chu has released Shawn Coates from custody with ZERO bail required. He's out of custody.
. pic.twitter.com/wAWztpkGra— CrimeWatchMpls (@CrimeWatchMpls) January 11, 2022
Chu is best known for presiding over the manslaughter trial of former Brooklyn Center police officer Kim Potter. This is not the first time the Hennepin County judge has released violent criminals back onto the streets. Earlier this month, she temporarily released a man from jail so he could attend a funeral, but he never came back.
Anthony Gockowski
Anthony Gockowski is Editor-in-Chief of Alpha News. He previously worked as an editor for The Minnesota Sun and Campus Reform, and wrote for the Daily Caller.
