Robbinsdale police seek BCA review into man's drowning after he evaded officers

The Robbinsdale Police Department has asked the state of Minnesota to review its investigation into the death of a man whose body was found in a lake two days after he allegedly evaded a traffic stop.

The body of Khalil A. Azad, of Buffalo, Minn., was pulled from Crystal Lake last July. The Hennepin County Medical Examiner ruled his death an accidental drowning. Two days before his body was found, Robbinsdale police say, Azad fled officers who tried to catch up to him on suspicion of drunken driving, first in his SUV and then on foot, prompting a ground and air search.

The department's request to the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) follows allegations by activists that Azad did not drown but rather was beaten to death by officers. Court and law enforcement records are in conflict over whether he was 24 at the time of his death or 26.

"This past week, we have received inquiries with regards to the cause of death of Mr. Azad," Police Chief Patrick Foley wrote in a news release posted online Friday. "This has fueled many questions from the community. Although a thorough investigation was completed last year, in an effort of transparency, we support an independent agency to review all relevant evidence, reports and information regarding this incident."

Foley wrote that the department "is in the process of gathering camera footage from the incident and will be releasing it early next week."

BCA spokeswoman Bonney Bowman said Saturday that the agency is evaluating the request "and will be in contact with the department and the Hennepin County Attorney's Office."

Skeptics of the conclusion that Azad accidentally drowned have been circulating what are described as autopsy photos that show his face swollen from what they allege was a beating by police officers. The Medical Examiner's Office has made no official release of photos.

"The family of Khalil Ahmad Azad says he was bitten by dogs and brutally beaten to death by the Robbinsdale Police Department," read a statement from Black Lives Matter of Minnesota released on Feb. 25. It includes what is presented as autopsy photos of Khalil's body. "According to the family ... the medical examiner's stories don't add up. The autopsy says there are no bruises on Khalil's body, however, photos clearly show otherwise. If it was an accidental drowning, why are there dog bites on his face, body, arms, and bruises on his back?"

According to Black Lives Matter, the family's demands include: an outside death investigation, a review of the "policies and practices" of the Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office and the suspension of all police K-9 units in Minnesota.

Last Monday, two days after the Black Lives Matter statement was released, the chief responded with a summary of the events surrounding Azad's death. It said:

Shortly before 1:30 a.m. on July 3, officers attempted to stop a suspected drunken driver in the 4200 block of County Road 81. The driver did not pull over, and police pursued the SUV.

The driver hit a curb and a tree about a quarter-mile into the pursuit, and the SUV stopped in the 3900 block of N. Lakeland Avenue. A man, later determined to be Azad, fled from the vehicle and eluded a ground and air search by police and other law enforcement agencies.

"Based on a review of body-worn camera footage, Robbinsdale police officers did not have any contact with the person who fled the scene," the summary read. "Officers did speak with the two passengers who were in the vehicle, and neither passenger identified the driver."

Shortly before 1 p.m. on July 5, Robbinsdale police officers were dispatched to Crystal Lake, just to the east of where the SUV came to a stop, on a report from a passerby of a body in the water along the shoreline. Officers located a male face down and dead in the water. The Medical Examiner identified the man as Azad, and it was determined that he was the driver who fled from police two days earlier.