Uncle of girl who filmed George Floyd murder is killed by Minneapolis squad car that crashed into his SUV while chasing suspected carjacker
The uncle of the 18-year-old woman who filmed the fatal arrest of George Floyd in Minneapolis last year has been killed in a high-speed police pursuit of a suspected carjacker.
Darnella Frazier, who was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for filming police officer Derek Chauvin as he knelt on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes in May of last year, announced the death of her uncle, Leneal Frazier.
Minneapolis police are investigating whether the squad car had its emergency lights and sirens on as is required in instances of pursuits of suspects.
Leneal Frazier, who was not suspected of a crime, was driving westbound in his Jeep on West 41st Avenue in the Camden section of north Minneapolis just after midnight on Tuesday when a police car slammed into his vehicle at the intersection of Lyndale Avenue.
The image above shows a mangled SUV after a police car collided into near the intersection of West 41st Avenue and Lyndale Avenue in northern Minneapolis after midnight on Tuesday
The image above shows the SUV (left) and a minivan (right) involved in the three-car crash
The image above shows a Minneapolis Police Department squad car that was in the midst of a pursuit of an armed robbery suspect when the crash took place
Darnella Frazier (left), who was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for filming police officer Derek Chauvin as he knelt on George Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes in May of last year, announced the death of her uncle, Leneal Frazier (right)
‘Minneapolis police killed my uncle,’ she wrote in a Facebook post sent on Tuesday. ‘Another black man lost his life in the hands of the police!’
According to Minneapolis police, a squad car was driving north on Lyndale at high speed in pursuit of a carjacking suspect when Leneal Frazier's SUV, which was driving westbound on 41st Avenue, entered the intersection of Lyndale and 41st. The squad car is said to have 'T-boned' Frazier's Jeep, sending it crashing into a nearby bus stop. Another vehicle, a minivan that was heading southbound on Lyndale, was also involved in the collision
Another vehicle belonging to a bystander who was driving south on Lyndale at the time of the chase was also involved in the crash.
A witness said that the Jeep was ‘T-boned’ into a bus stop near a gas station.
The police car was driving north on Lyndale in hot pursuit of a suspect in a stolen vehicle who was believed to have been behind a carjacking and several robberies of businesses in the area, according to the MPD.
Officers first saw the stolen vehicle near North 6th Street and Lowry Avenue and tried to have the driver pull the car over.
But the driver accelerated in an attempt to flee arrest. The chase continued for more than a mile-and-a-half.
Frazier was rushed to North Memorial Health in Robbinsdale, where he was pronounced dead. The police officer driving the squad car was also rushed to hospital, where he was later released.
Local residents said they heard two loud bangs at around the time of the collision after midnight on Tuesday
Police officers were called to the scene which was cordoned off by yellow tape so as to keep bystanders at a distance
The investigation into the crash is being handled by the Minnesota State Patrol
Investigators are looking into whether the squad car had its sirens and lights on during the chase
Darnella Frazier shared a screen shot of text messages that she recently exchanged with her uncle
The armed robbery suspect was not involved in the collision and remains at large, according to authorities.
‘Minneapolis police killed my uncle,’ she wrote in a Facebook post sent on Tuesday.
‘Another black man lost his life in the hands of the police!’
She added: ‘Minneapolis police has cost my whole family a big loss...today has been a day full of heartbreak and sadness.’
Frazier slammed MPD officers for conducting a high-speed chase on a residential road.
‘You took an innocent life trying to catch someone else,’ the message read.
The Minnesota State Patrol arrived on the scene in the aftermath of the crash and launched an investigation.
DailyMail.com has reached out to MPD and MSP seeking comment.
In June 2019, MPD updated its pursuit policy, which now bans officers from initiating chases if they ‘pose an unreasonable risk to the officers, the public or passengers of the vehicle being pursued who may be unwilling participants.’
MPD officers may initiate a pursuit if they believe a suspect either has committed or is about to commit ‘a serious and violent felony or gross misdemeanor.’
Officers can also give chase if they believe the suspect’s driving is ‘so flagrantly reckless that the driver would pose an imminent and life-threatening danger to the public if not apprehended.’
John Elder, a spokesperson for the MPD, told the Star Tribune that Tuesday morning’s pursuit ‘fit the criteria’ spelled out in the department’s updated policy.
Darnella Frazier when they found Floyd pinned to the ground by Chauvin and two other police officers
Darnella was recognized 'for courageously recording the murder of George Floyd, a video that spurred protests against police brutality around the world, highlighting the crucial role of citizens in journalists' quest for truth and justice,' the citation said
‘We are limiting what we can chase for, but these were obvious felonies,’ Elder said.
Witnesses said they heard back-to-back collisions. Residents living in homes nearby went to their windows to take a glance at the scene.
Investigators who arrived on the scene found a mangled SUV with its driver side crumpled after it was smashed into a bus stop in front of a nearby gas station.
Another vehicle involved in the crash, a minivan, had both driver side and passenger side airbags deployed.
Raquel Brown, a local resident, saw the crash site while she and two siblings were on their way to the store.
She then took out her cell phone and started recording.
While examining the scene, Brown said it appeared that one of the cars hit by the police squad car was ‘just T-boned right into the bus stop.’
‘The whole driver’s side was gone,’ Brown told the Star Tribune.
Police officers were summoned to the crash site, which was cordoned off with yellow tape in order to keep bystanders at a distance.
‘We asked one [officer] who came up, and he said, “We don't really know. Let's calm down”,’ she said.
‘We were like, we want to know what happened. He really wasn't able to tell us anything.’
As of early Wednesday morning, there was no publicly available video footage of the crash or the high speed chase.
The Clark gas station located on the intersection has surveillance cameras pointed toward the crash site, but police have yet to obtain that footage.
Local residents were angered that police would conduct a high-speed chase on a residential road.
'What do you think, that a life is more important or the car is more important?' said Dwayne Bledsoe, a resident of the nearby Prosperity Village Apartments.
Bledsoe told the Star Tribune that he was about to sit at the bus stop in the moments before the crash.
'I would have been dead,' he said.
Crashes during law enforcement pursuits killed more than 7,000 people nationwide between 1996 and 2015, or 355 annually on average, according to the last comprehensive report by the Bureau of Justice Statistics on the issue in 2017.
On the anniversary of his death, Darnella Frazier posted a touching tribute to George Floyd
Nearly 30 percent of the people killed were in vehicles not involved in pursuits, 4 percent were bystanders, 65 percent were suspects and 1 percent were officers.
A study in the FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin in 2010 said some officers can't stomach allowing a suspect to drive off, even if it's the safer option.
Researchers also said chases produce an adrenaline rush impairs officers' motor skills.
Technology has been available for years that offers alternatives, including magnetized GPS devices that can be flung onto a suspect’s car, enabling police to stop and track the signal.
No comments