St. Paul police say state Rep. John Thompson yelled at officers Sunday after his daughter was pulled over, prompting a sharp rebuke from the city's police chief.
St. Paul police chief says Rep. John Thompson misused his office in police interaction
Thompson. an independent from St. Paul, has clashed with officers before over a traffic stop.
April 25, 2022 at 9:03PM
Thompson, an independent from St. Paul, arrived at a scene where police had pulled over his adult daughter, who had expired tabs and had swerved out of her lane, according to a St. Paul police summary. The department said he started yelling at officers over their treatment of his daughter and handing out his legislative business cards.
The legislator has clashed with police in the past. In one incident last year, he contended a St. Paul officer racially profiled him during a traffic stop when he was cited for driving with a suspended license. Thompson and his attorney did not respond to requests for comment Monday.
"Here we go again," Police Chief Todd Axtell wrote on Facebook Monday. "It's an absolute shame — that an elected official would attempt to intimidate and bully police officers, that he would misuse his official position, that officers doing their jobs should have to endure illegitimate claims of racism, that John Thompson is still serving in the Legislature."
The officer who pulled over Thompson's 26-year-old daughter Sunday smelled "illegal drugs coming from the van," according to police, who also said she was driving with a suspended license. She refused to cooperate with officers, police said, but they allowed her to go home with Thompson rather than take her into custody. Police have requested the city attorney charge her with a third-degree DWI for refusing a sobriety test.
Thompson, who represents part of St. Paul's East Side, got involved in politics and police reform activism after a St. Anthony police officer shot and killed his friend, Philando Castile, in a traffic stop in 2016. This is his first term in the Legislature, where he previously was part of the DFL caucus. Democrats expelled him after domestic abuse accusations and questions about where he lived surfaced last year.
Staff writer Liz Sawyer contributed to this report.
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