Police seek person who spray-painted over city camera they say would have captured fatal crash at Winston Smith protest

A police spokesman said the camera would have provided "crucial evidence" in the death of Deona Knajdek.

June 16, 2021 at 4:44AM
Police and city crews arrived just after noon to clear the blockade from W Lake St. and fix the surveillance camera which had been painted over with stray paint. Protestors have blocked off W Lake St and Fremont Ave, creating a "no-go" zone in Uptown at Lake and Girard. In the area where Deona Knajdek and Winston Smith were killed.
Minneapolis police and city crews arrived just after noon to clear the blockade from W Lake Street and fix the surveillance camera which had been painted over with spray paint. (Glen Stubbe - Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Minneapolis police are looking for a man who spray-painted over the city camera that would have captured a driver crashing into a parked car Sunday, killing 31-year-old Deona Knajdek. The car was blocking an intersection as part of the Winston Smith protests.

Police say the man climbed a pole in the area of W. Lake Street and S. Girard Avenue at 8:34 p.m. Sunday and spray-painted over the camera.

Three hours later Nicholas D. Kraus, 35, drove eastbound into a group of protesters, striking a car, which then hit Knadjek.

Kraus, who has a history of drunken driving and no license, is in the Hennepin County jail awaiting charges.

"This is the camera that would have caught the fatal crash Sunday evening, providing law enforcement and the County Attorney's Office with critical evidence in the prosecution of the suspect," police spokesman John Elder said in a news release.

Anyone with information is encouraged to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS or submit tips online at www.CrimeStoppersMN.org.

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Police say this is the person who spray-painted over a city camera. (The Minnesota Star Tribune)
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