A former Minneapolis police officer has been sentenced to over nine months in the Hennepin County Jail after admitting to causing the 2021 crash that killed 40-year-old Leneal Frazier.
Authorities say Brian Cummings was chasing an armed robbery suspect when he entered an intersection on a red light at an extraordinarily high rate of speed in his squad car with no reason for doing so.
Video shows Cummings’ squad hit Frazier’s jeep on the driver’s side at close to 100 miles per hour.
Frazier was the uncle of Darnella Frazier, the teenager who recorded the video that went viral of George Floyd’s murder.
The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office says Cummings’ guilty plea is believed to be the first time in Minnesota that a police officer has pled guilty to a homicide offense without having previously been convicted and sentenced to prison.
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty released a statement following the sentencing, sharing that “today’s sentencing sends an important message that every person in our county will be held accountable for their actions when they break the law.”
“Community members expect that those empowered to enforce the law will not callously disregard the lives of others when they do so,” Moriarty said. “Thankfully, Mr. Cummings’ criminal conduct is not representative of the many enforcement officers who act and drive responsibly with respect for the safety of our community members each and every day.”
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