Minneapolis police shot driver with projectile, knocked her out at wheel, lawsuit says

A 25-year-old Maple Grove woman says Minneapolis police shot her with a projectile while she tried to drive away from protests last summer, knocking her unconscious at the wheel.

In a lawsuit filed this week, Autumn Larson said she was stuck on the entrance ramp to Hwy. 55 on May 30, a few nights after the death of George Floyd, when police shot a tear-gas canister at the side of her car. The gas wafted into her open window, choking and blinding her. Foot on the brake, she moved her head to the window for air, and a projectile hit her on the bridge of the noise, knocking her out.

Her sister, in the passenger's seat, helped pull the car over.

The police gave her no chance to surrender or be placed under arrest before they fired, according to the civil complaint. "Instead, [police] instructed Autumn to leave the scene, and when she attempted to do just that, they shot her in the face without a verbal warning and then left her to bleed in the street."

The Minneapolis City Attorney's Office declined to comment on the pending lawsuit.

A group of researchers, primarily from the University of Minnesota Medical School, recently published a review of records from 89 people who sought medical attention during the period of unrest last summer, finding injuries from projectiles, particularly to the head and eye, to be the most common. The report, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, concluded that, "under current practices, projectiles are not appropriate for crowd control."

Larson joins several other protesters and journalists who have sued Minneapolis for excessive force by police during the protests and riots that took place across the city in response to Floyd's death. Last week, a judge ruled that a case brought by the Minnesota chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union could move forward, finding the case plausibly argues that police used unconstitutional force against peaceful protesters. Another lawsuit claims officers targeted journalists during the unrest.

Larson's lawsuit names Minneapolis, its police department, Mayor Jacob Frey, Police Chief Medaria Arradondo and 30 unidentified officers as responsible for a host of civil rights violations.

According to the lawsuit, Larson had attended a protest near E. 31st Street and Nicollet Avenue S. earlier in the evening. When the curfew took effect at 8 p.m., she and her sister headed toward her car, but they were diverted by police officers shooting tear gas and projectiles. At one point, a neighbor allowed her to take refuge in their home.

When she and her sister got into their car later, they tried to enter the highway near the East Lake Street and Hiawatha Avenue on-ramp, but a group of protesters blocked her path. A black SUV on the on-ramp was maneuvering strangely, and she was unable to pass it, according to the lawsuit. That's when police shot her with the tear gas and projectile.

Larson's injury required stitches, created severe bruising and left her with a concussion and permanently debilitated vision, according to the civil complaint. She continues to suffer headaches, loss of smell, dizziness, sleeplessness and anxiety.

The lawsuit alleges Larson was a victim of a pattern of excessive force by police that evening, which it says was authorized by Frey and Arradondo. It also says that Lt. Bob Kroll, at the time president of the Minneapolis police union, was acting as the department's "unofficial policymaker" who shaped the culture that led to the use of force.

"While it is unfortunate Autumn must seek redress for her injuries through the courts, she hopes that her lawsuit will spark a serious discussion, as well as positive change, regarding the extent of force used by police in responding to protesters in Minneapolis and elsewhere," said Larson's attorney, Julian Zebot, in a statement to the Star Tribune.

Andy Mannix • 612-673-4036