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Minnesota Police have released body camera footage taken during a traffic stop with State Representative John Thompson, which raises questions about his claim he was arrested for “driving in black.”
“Why in such a hurry? an officer asks Thompson, a Democrat, in the video shot July 4 and released Tuesday by the St. Paul Police Department.
“I don’t think I took off like a bat from hell, I just left,” Thompson replies.
The officer asks Thompson for proof of insurance in the video, which the politician says is on his phone and notes that he is a state representative in the district. The officer asks about his Wisconsin driver’s license and returns to his vehicle for approximately 14 minutes.
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“You are suspended in Minnesota,” the officer said after returning to Thompson’s car.
The state legislator shakes his head no, prompting the officer to say, “That’s what the computer says. If it’s wrong, you will have to deal with DVS [the Department of Vehicle Services]. “
Thompson would never have held a Minnesota license, according to documents reviewed by local media, and the officer cited him for driving with a suspended Wisconsin license.
His license was suspended in 2019 for non-payment of child support in Ramsey County, Minnesota, the WCCO store reported.
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Thompson then asks in the video why he was arrested, which the officer said was because his car had “no faceplate and the way you took off the light there.”
“I’m too old to run away from the police, man,” said Thompson. “You profiled me because you looked me in the face and I got a ticket for driving while Black. You stopped me because you saw a Black face in that car, brother. There’s no way I’m going with you behind me. … You looked in that car and you turned around and walked behind my car, and that’s the reason – “
Police body camera footage of Representative John Thompson’s traffic stop on July 4
(City of St. Paul / Minnesota House of Representatives)
The officer then informs the state representative that the interaction is being recorded on a body camera.
“I know. But what I’m saying is what you’re doing is wrong for black men,” he says. “And you have to stop this. Thank you very much, but this post means nothing to me… What I’m telling you is to stop racially profiling black men in their cars, sir. Stop doing that.”
The officer maintains he wasn’t racially profiling and finally tells Thompson to get a good night’s sleep and leaves.
The body cam footage does not have audio of the first 30 seconds between Thompson and the officer, nor does it show the period leading up to the traffic stop.
The body camera footage was released after St. Paul Police Chief Todd Axtell demanded an apology from Thompson for accusing the officer of racial profiling.
“These are not accusations that I take lightly, so I looked into the traffic control, looked at the body-worn camera footage and spoke to the sergeant,” Axtell wrote in an article on Facebook on Friday. “This stop, made around 1:20 am, had absolutely nothing to do with the pilots’ race.”
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“Simply put, stopping traffic was within the rules,” Axtell continued. “What happened next was anything but, I am appalled and disappointed by the state official’s response to the shutdown. Rather than taking responsibility for his own decisions and actions, he attempted to hijack attention, criticize and deny any wrongdoing. “
Police body camera footage of Representative John Thompson’s traffic stop on July 4
(City of St. Paul / Minnesota House of Representatives)
“The driver, an elected official who does not dispute driving without a front license plate, owes our sergeant an apology.”
Thompson did not respond to Axtell’s call to apologize, but supported the release of the body camera images and noted that the officer’s actions “were in accordance with the book.”
Thompson did not immediately respond to Fox News’ request for comment.
He posted on Facebook on Sunday: “I know why I have a (target) on my back. But know that slander won’t work (sic) either !!! I (sic) won’t stop doing pressure !! “
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The Democratic state representative also faces controversy over his residence, as the address on his July 4 ticket matches an address in St. Paul that is not in his district.
The Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association also sent a letter to the Wisconsin attorney general requesting an investigation and saying that Thompson had either “defrauded the state of Wisconsin” or defrauded his “constituents” in Minnesota.
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