Minnesota DFL party chairman says he's 'disappointed' by Rep. John Thompson's recent actions

Minnesota DFL Party Chairman Ken Martin said Sunday he is "disappointed" by the actions of Rep. John Thompson, who recently said St. Paul police racially profiled him during a traffic stop.

"Nobody is above the law, including our elected officials," Martin said in a statement. "Representative John Thompson fell short of that standard, and I am disappointed by his recent actions."

Thompson, DFL-St. Paul, was cited July 4 for driving while under suspension after police say he was pulled over for not having a front license plate. Days later in St. Paul, Thompson described the interaction as an example of being profiled by police because of his race.

"I thought we weren't doing pretextual stops in this state, but we are," Thompson said outside the governor's residence. "We're still getting 'driving-while-Black' tickets here in this state — as a matter of fact, in St. Paul. So let's just call it what it is."

Thompson made the comments at an event marking five years since his friend Philando Castile was fatally shot by a police officer in Falcon Heights.

Thompson, who has a Wisconsin driver's license, had his driving privileges revoked in Minnesota in April 2019 in a Ramsey County child-support case.

Doug Neville, a spokesman for the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, said Thompson was reinstated Wednesday "after taking care of the child-support issue." Neville said Thompson does not hold a Minnesota driver's license and has never had a license issued by the state.

After the death of Castile, Thompson turned his activism over police brutality into a successful run for office in 2020. The outspoken freshman House member likened his traffic stop to the "pretextual" stops for minor traffic or equipment violations that Democrats failed to curb in the recently completed session.

Martin's response comes after St. Paul Police Chief Todd Axtell defended one of his sergeants against Thompson's accusations on Friday.

Axtell wrote on Facebook that he reviewed body camera footage and spoke to the sergeant before concluding that the stop "had absolutely nothing to do with the driver's race."

He said Thompson "owes our sergeant an apology."

The Pioneer Press first reported on the traffic stop. Thompson told the newspaper this week that he had kept his Wisconsin license and had not gotten a Minnesota license.

New Minnesota residents must apply for a state license or permit within 60 days of becoming a resident. Thompson previously had told the Pioneer Press that he had lived in St. Paul for 18 years.

Thompson did not reply to requests for comment Sunday night.