The St. Paul Police Chief is defending one of his sergeants, and criticizing a state representative who claims he was racially profiled during a recent traffic stop.
Representative John Thompson (D-St. Paul) was stopped by St. Paul Police early Sunday morning. Police say Thompson did not have a front license plate, and driving with a suspended license.
At a rally later in the week, Thompson claimed the stop was the result of racial profiling.
The St. Paul Police sergeant who stopped Thompson says Thompson failed to show a Minnesota ID, and rather presented a Wisconsin drivers license. The Star Tribune reports that Thompson's driving privileges' were revoked in 2019 due to a child support case. A spokesman for the Minnesota Department of Public Safety says Thompson rectified the situation this week.
In a Facebook post that does not name Thompson, St. Paul Police Chief Todd Axtell says he has reviewed the traffic stop, and watched video from the officer's body camera, and he says the stop was by the books. Axtell says rather than take responsibility for his actions, the state representative deflected and cast aspersions. He said Thompson owes the St. Paul Police Sergeant who made the stop an apology.