Minneapolis police officer involved in fatal crash identified, documents indicate video exists
Documents released by the City of Minneapolis reveal new details in the police crash that killed an innocent motorist Tuesday morning.
The Minneapolis police officer involved in the July 6 incident is Brian Cummings, according to city records posted Wednesday. He was behind the wheel of a squad car, pursuing a suspect northbound on city streets around 12:30 a.m., when he crashed into a westbound vehicle being driven by Leneal Frazier.
Frazier, 40, was killed in the crash. He was identified early Wednesday as the uncle of Darnella Frazier, the teenager who filmed George Floyd's arrest and death. Leneal Frazier had to be extracted from his car after the wreck, according to an incident report posted online by the city. He was taken to the hospital and died, police have said.
Read: Innocent man killed in Minneapolis police crash ID'd as uncle of Darnella Frazier
Cummings, police said, had serious but non-life threatening injuries.
A driver in a third vehicle, driving southbound at the time, was also involved in the wreck. Police did not indicate any injuries suffered by the Columbia Heights man.
The newly published documents also indicate the existence of video footage, including from a body camera, an in-vehicle camera and a security camera.
The Minneapolis Police Department has released few details about the circumstances leading up to and surrounding the pursuit.
The department said Cummings was pursuing a robbery suspect in a suspected stolen car at the time of the wreck. The intersection where the fatal crash occurred — Lyndale Avenue and North 41st Avenue — includes a gas station and a couple of apartment buildings. There are also stoplights. It's about a mile north of where Cummings was said to have initially seen the alleged suspect (Lowry Avenue and North 6th Street).
In 2019, MPD changed its policy for pursuits. It states chase may only be given for "a serious and violent felony or gross misdemeanor," not for minor offenses.
The Minnesota State Patrol is handling the investigation into the crash.
