Minnesota Rep. John Thompson, who claimed he was racially profiled during a July 4 traffic stop, said he supports the release of body camera video from the St. Paul police officer who pulled him over.
Rep. John Thompson calls for swift release of body camera footage from traffic stop
Rep. John Thompson maintains he was pulled over in a pretextual stop.
July 13, 2021 at 2:16AM
"It is within the power of the St. Paul Police to release that footage, and I am not a barrier to that," Thompson, DFL-St. Paul, said in a statement released on his legislative website on Monday.
He said that even though the video will show the officer conducted the traffic stop "by the book," the bigger issue is "we need to rewrite the book."
The state representative was cited for driving under suspension after police say he was pulled over for not having a front license plate.
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.
He explained in his statement that he had previously lived in Wisconsin and considered moving back to care for a family member, who will instead move to Minnesota.
Doug Neville, a spokesman for the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, said Thompson had his driving privileges reinstated last Wednesday "after taking care of the child-support issue."
Neville said Thompson has never had a license issued by the state of Minnesota.
Thompson said he plans to acquire a Minnesota license, "as I should have before."
Thompson described the interaction as another example of a pretextual stop for a minor equipment violation rooted in racial profiling by police.
He cited the killings of Daunte Wright and Thompson's friend Philando Castile, both fatally shot by police officers during traffic stops.
"The desire to be treated with respect and be able to drive away from this interaction safely was why I informed the officer I was a State Representative during our conversation," he said in his statement. "I was able to drive away from this interaction while other Black Minnesotans, in very similar situations, have not."
Star Tribune reporters Erin Adler and Stephen Montemayor contributed to this report.
Republicans across the country benefited from favorable tailwinds as President-elect Donald Trump resoundingly defeated Democrat Kamala Harris. But that wasn’t the whole story in Minnesota.
