Police release body cam footage in fatal Minneapolis shooting

On Thursday evening, Minneapolis police released 27 seconds of body cam footage from the shooting.

Minneapolis Police in riot gear on 36th and Cedar as a crowd of protesters swelled to over 200. Rebecca Brannon.

A man was shot and killed by Minneapolis police on Wednesday night during a traffic stop in south Minneapolis.

Crime Watch Minneapolis posted on Twitter just after 6 p.m. that an officer help call was aired over police dispatch and that shots had been fired at 36th and Cedar Avenue South. The dispatch indicated that police were not hit.

A subsequent post in the thread said that an officer indicated that two people were inside a vehicle and a male was “down” and a female was inside with her hands up in the parking lot of the Holiday gas station.

A portion of the police dispatch audio was posted online in which shots seemingly can be heard in the background at the beginning of the officer’s dispatch. The officer asked for medics to stage in the area because the scene was not yet under control. Another officer can be heard calling for a perimeter to be set up to secure the scene and keep traffic clear for medics to enter. One officer aired instructions for all officers to keep their body-worn cameras turned on.

A press briefing was held a short time later by John Elder, director of police information for the City of Minneapolis. He said that at approximately 6:15 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 30, officers from the Minneapolis Police Department were engaged in a traffic stop with a felony suspect. During the stop, gunfire was exchanged between the suspect and police, and the suspect, an adult male, was struck. Medical personnel pronounced him deceased at the scene. According to Elder, the female passenger in the vehicle was not injured nor were any of the officers who were involved.

Elder said that the officers involved were from a “Community Response Team” (CRT) and were not officers from the Third Precinct. Elder said that officers’ body-worn cameras were on and operational during the time of the shooting. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension will be taking over all aspects of the investigation, he said. Elder cited the ensuing investigation and declined to answer questions about how many shots were fired or the names of the officers involved.

In a later press conference held by Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo, he said that initial witness statements indicated that the felony suspect fired at officers first. Chief Arradondo said that he plans to release the body-worn camera images on Thursday.

The identity of the man killed and the cause of death will be released by the Hennepin County Medical Examiner in the coming days, Elder said.

UPDATE (4:33 p.m.): On Thursday evening, Minneapolis police released 27 seconds of body cam footage from the shooting. The video is graphic.

Police also released a slowed speed version of the footage.

“In continued efforts to increase trust with our community, Chief Arradondo has made the unprecedented decision to release officer body worn camera video within 24 hours of this incident,” the Minneapolis Police Department said in a press release. “This was done to further aid efforts in understanding and fostering transparency.”

UPDATE (5:37 p.m.): Mayor Jacob Frey and Chief Arradondo held a press conference following the release of the body cam footage.

“My officers were reacting to that deadly threat,” Arradondo said during the press conference. “When I’ve viewed the video that everyone else is viewing, and certainly the slowed down version, it appears that the individual inside the vehicle fires his weapon at the officers first.”

This is a developing story. Stay with Alpha News for updates.

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Minnesota Crime Watch & Information publishes news, info and commentary about crime, public safety and livability issues in Minneapolis, the Twin Cities and Greater Minnesota.

 

Crime Watch MN

Minnesota Crime Watch & Information publishes news, info and commentary about crime, public safety and livability issues in Minneapolis, the Twin Cities and Greater Minnesota.