Metro Transit police chief confirmed as U.S. marshal for Minnesota

Metro Transit Police Chief Eddie Frizell was confirmed by the Senate as U.S. marshal for the Minnesota district on Wednesday.

Frizell will serve the four-year term and replaces Ramona Dohman, appointed to the post by former President Donald Trump. He leads the Minnesota district operations of the country's oldest federal law enforcement agency, which oversees security for the federal court system and is tasked with arresting federal fugitives.

Frizell became Metro Transit's police chief in 2019 after a long tenure with the Minneapolis Police Department, where he served as deputy chief and inspector.

"With nearly 30 years of law enforcement experience, Eddie Frizell is exceptionally well-qualified to lead the U.S. Marshal's office in Minnesota," said Minnesota U.S. Sen. Tina Smith in a statement. "I am confident that his experience and dedication to public service will help him lead the office with integrity."

In a statement, Minnesota U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar said she worked to advance Frizell's nomination through the Senate Judiciary Committee.

"Eddie Frizell is a dedicated public servant who will bring nearly 30 years of law enforcement experience and three decades of Minnesota Army National Guard service to this critical position," she said.

The appointment comes months after two sheriff's deputies, while assigned to a U.S. Marshals Service fugitive task force, shot and killed a Black man in Minneapolis, sparking controversy about how the Justice Department was implementing its policy on body-worn cameras.

The shooting of Winston Boogie Smith Jr. in June prompted nights of protest. The officers — deputies from local sheriff's offices who work on the federal fugitive task force — were not wearing body cameras.

Protesters also gathered outside Dohman's home to demand her resignation in the days after Smith's death.