St. Paul police chief disputes DFL Rep. John Thompson's racial profiling claim

St. Paul Police Chief Todd Axtell on Friday defended one of his sergeants against accusations of racial profiling made by a Minnesota state legislator ticketed during a traffic stop last weekend.

Rep. John 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 at a rally in St. Paul, Thompson described the encounter 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 Tuesday outside the governor's residence at an event marking five years since his friend Philando Castile was fatally shot by a police officer in Falcon Heights. "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, 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.

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.

Yet in a Facebook post Friday, Axtell wrote 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."

"Simply put, the traffic stop was by the books. What happened afterwards was anything but," Axtell wrote. "I'm dismayed and disappointed by the state representative's response to the stop. Rather than taking responsibility for his own decisions and actions, he attempted to deflect, cast aspersions and deny any wrongdoing."

He said Thompson "owes our sergeant an apology." Thompson did not respond to requests for comment.

Thompson was pulled over at 1:18 a.m. Sunday near Seventh Street E. and Wacouta Street because his vehicle did not have a front license plate, St. Paul police spokesman Steve Linders said. Linders said Thompson identified himself as a state representative and presented a Wisconsin driver's license before the sergeant cited him for driving after suspension of driving privileges.

Linders said Thompson accused the sergeant of racially profiling him after receiving the citation. The sergeant reiterated to Thompson that he stopped him because he did not have a front license plate as required by state law, Linders said.

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.

Stephen Montemayor • 612-673-1755

Twitter: @smontemayor