The bodycam footage of Minnesota state Rep. John Thompson being stopped by police on July 4 has surfaced. Thompson had spoken out on the growing controversy surrounding the traffic stop and approved release of the footage on Tuesday.
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Two days after the citation, Thompson spoke at an event marking the five-year anniversary of the death of Philando Castille. While there, he alluded to the incident, saying that he was pulled over for "driving while Black."
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Following Thompson's comments, the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association demanded that he allow the body cam footage to be released. They were calling him hypocritical for not letting his constituents see how he acted during the traffic stop.
The St. Paul police officer pulled over Thompson near Seventh Street East and Wacouta Street early in the morning of July 4. The police department said the reason for the stop was because Thompson's car did not have a front license plate.
Thompson handed his license to the policeman and identified himself as the state lawmaker. The officer was surprised to hear that as he was given a Wisconsin license.
"I'm actually the current state representative in this district," Thompson said, to which the officer responded, "and you got a Wisconsin license?"
"Yeah, I got a Wisconsin license. I am state representative John Thompson," he said.
The officer returned to his car, where he ran Thompson's information through his computer. He then returned to Thompson stating that his license was suspended in Minnesota, to which Thompson shook his head and said no.
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Thompson then asked the officer why he pulled him over, and while he was telling him it was because of his front license plate, Thompson cut him off.
"Man, I'm too old to run from the police; you profiled me because you looked me dead in the face, and I got a ticket for driving while Black," Thompson said while on what appeared to be Instagram live.
"You pulled me over because you saw a black face in this car," he said to the officer.
He went on to say the officer saw him, made a u-turn, and got behind him because he was Black, to which the officer denied his claim saying, "it's on camera, sir."
"What I am saying is what you are doing is wrong to Black men, and you need to stop that," Thompson said. "What I am saying to you is stop racially profiling Black men in their car, sir."
The officer denied his accusations, and the two went their way.
Thompson was cited for driving with a suspended license. On April 21, 2019, it was revoked for his failure to pay child support, WCCO reported.
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Thompson reportedly does not hold a Minnesota driver's license and has never had a driver's license issued by Minnesota. However, his Wisconsin license was reinstated after he dealt with the child support issue.
Many on social media have questioned why a Minnesota state Rep. has never had a Minnesota license.
The MPPOA have asked the Wisconsin Attorney General to investigate his Wisconsin license.
Thompson released a statement on Monday evening reiterating his belief that he was involved in a "pretextual traffic stop." He compared it to the same stop his late friend Castille was involved in when he was shot.
Thompson has not commented since okaying the release of the video early Tuesday morning.