Video shows disputed incident

Shows interaction of police and suspects at Little Earth housing complex

 

By David Chanen/Terry Collins
Star Tribune

 

A sought-after surveillance videotape released Wednesday shows a Minneapolis police lieutenant bumping into the shoulder of a handcuffed suspect before placing him in a squad car.

While two heated news conferences have been held since the May 26 incident, few details have been made public. The videotape was released by the head of Little Earth of United Tribes.

Lt. Mike Fossum leaned his left shoulder and hip into Juan T. Vasquez, the videotape shows. Vasquez slumped down, and his momentum knocked Lt. Rick Thomas off the sidewalk before the three walked away.

The tape also shows that Vasquez was in the squad car for at least 13 minutes with the windows shut. The outside temperature was 81 degrees at the time, and two sources with knowledge of the incident said the air conditioning wasn't turned on.

Thomas called for an ambulance at the request of Vasquez's girlfriend, but paramedics said he didn't need hospitalization, the sources said. Vasquez was jailed on drug and domestic assault charges.

The video doesn't show the entire incident and has no audio.

After seeing the video, Vasquez's father, Juan A. Vasquez, said he thinks it's pretty clear that there was misconduct. "My son got bumped for no reason," he said. "He was in handcuffs. It was wrong."

Thomas and Fossum were placed on paid administrative leave Monday. The Police Department's internal investigation will determine if Fossum intentionally used force while Vasquez was handcuffed and if the squad car was excessively hot, interim Chief Tim Dolan said.

Dolan wouldn't discuss the videotape, but said he will meet Tuesday with the city and county attorney's offices as well as the FBI to review the department's preliminary investigation and the videotape.

Officers responded to a fight call

The incident started when Fossum and Thomas were patrolling the Little Earth area, between 18th and Cedar Avenues S. They responded to a fight call involving Vasquez and another man. The videotape shows the fight.

The younger Vasquez was at Little Earth to visit his father and to see his girlfriend, Jeannie White, 28, and their 6-year-old son when he got into a fight with another man, an alleged gang member, according to the elder Vasquez.

The father said the fight between his son and the man occurred after they had exchanged words two days before.

Thomas knew of the men who were fighting and told them to stop, said the sources familiar with the incident. Fossum told police he saw Vasquez give a large amount of crack cocaine to the other man, who ran away, the sources said.

The sources continued with this account of the incident: Fossum couldn't catch the other man, but he did find the drugs. He walked toward Vasquez because he wanted to show the drugs to him.

Fossum told police that he believed that Thomas, who was walking behind the already-handcuffed Vasquez, was going to stop him before they reached each other. When that didn't happen, Fossum leaned his left shoulder and hip into Vasquez, the sources said.

Relations Council wants investigation

On Wednesday, Clyde Bellecourt and Ron Edwards of the Police-Community Relations Council called for an investigation of the incident by the U.S. Justice Department. They said several unidentified witnesses and residents of Little Earth reported seeing Thomas and Fossum hit and kick Vasquez.

"Obstruction of justice is clearly going on in the investigation of the Little Earth incident," Bellecourt said.

Edwards said the group will continue with its request even though they are aware that Dolan is planning to meet with federal authorities soon. "We think it's the right thing to do," he said.

Releasing the video

Edwards and the Police Federation president, Sgt. John Delmonico, questioned why Little Earth's executive director, Bill Ziegler, waited until Wednesday to give it to the media.

In a statement, Ziegler said he released it because of ongoing tension and misinformation surrounding the incident.

Dolan said it was Ziegler's right to release the videotape.

While the allegations need to be taken seriously, Delmonico said, he said he has no reason to believe that Thomas or Fossum did anything criminal.

They quickly called for medical assistance when asked and followed department policy by requesting a supervisor to come to the scene because there was an allegation of use of force, Delmonico said.

Both remain on paid leave

Dolan said both officers will be on paid leave at least until Tuesday.

Fossum, who has been on the force for 20 years, is the head of the robbery unit. Thomas, an officer for 26 years, is well-known for his crime fighting efforts at Little Earth.

Kelly Morgan, a Little Earth resident, said the video shows one officer blatantly making contact with the man in handcuffs, which she finds inappropriate.

"It's clear that Fossum bumped him on purpose, and it knocked him and the other officer off guard," Morgan said Wednesday.

But she said the incident did not appear as serious as Vasquez's father had described it earlier in the day at the Police-Community Relations news conference.

"I think this whole thing has been blown out of proportion by Clyde Bellecourt," Morgan said.

In response, Bellecourt said he felt the incident was "pretty blatant."

Said Bellecourt: "There are a lot of witnesses that have to come forth and won't do so unless there is a third party investigating what happened and they can feel safe doing so."