Law & Crime report..
Prosecutors in Minneapolis on Friday filed two criminal charges against a city police officer who struck and killed Leneal Lamont Frazier. The victim was was the uncle of Darnella Frazier, the teen who recorded the murder of George Floyd and spread the video online.
A two-count criminal complaint accuses Brian Michael Cummings, 37, of Minneapolis, of second-degree manslaughter and criminal vehicular homicide. The first charge alleges that Cummings “created an unreasonable risk and consciously took a chance of causing death or great bodily harm.” It is punishable by up to ten years in prison or a fine of up to $20,000. The second accuses Cummings of “operating a motor vehicle in a grossly negligent manner” and “causing the death” of the victim.
A statement of probable cause attached to the criminal complaint says Cummings saw a black Kia Sportage that he believed “matched the description of a stolen vehicle that was suspected to be involved in thefts from businesses.”
The 12:31 a.m. spotting on July 6 led to a police chase — despite the underlying thefts involving what prosecutors downplayed as only “some limited use of force.”
“[T]here were no allegations that the thefts of the Vehicle or businesses involved weapons or that they resulted in bodily harm or injury to victims,” the document says.
With lights flashing and sirens blaring, Cummings chased the vehicle as it “accelerated away.” The pursuit continued for some 20 blocks, including through “residential neighborhoods in north Minneapolis” at “extremely high speeds nearing 100 miles per hour.”
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