Burnsville Police Officer Resigns After 'Racially Charged' Emails

A Burnsville police officer resigned last week after admitting in court to exchanging racist text messages with Allen Scarsella, a suspect in the shooting of five Black Lives Matter protesters.

Officer Brett Levin and Scarsella had been friends since high school. Levin said Scarsella sent him "racially charged" emails before the alleged shooting, the Star Tribune reported. Levin admitted in court he had replied with similarly offensive texts.

The alleged shooting took place in November 2015 in north Minneapolis during a protest over the fatal police shooting of Jamar Clark. Scarsella and several others allegedly showed up at the demonstration and began shooting protesters.

Burnsville Police Chief Eric Gieseke told KMSP that Levin is no longer with the Burnsville Police Department.
“Our department has very high standards regarding the conduct and professionalism of our officers, and we are proud of our relationship with all of our diverse community members,” Burnsville Police Chief Eric Gieseke said.

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