Edina Police Video: Mayor Says Officer Followed 'Established Protocol'

Edina Mayor Jim Hovland has released a statement in response to a Wednesday video of a police incident that has received millions of views and sparked outrage across Minnesota. The video shows a confrontation between a plain clothes Edina police officer and a black man who said he was simply walking on the side of the road.

Just before noon Oct. 12, an Edina Police Officer observed and stopped Larnie Thomas, who was walking in the lane of traffic on a busy city street. Thomas was detained at the scene. People across the country are expressing concern about how he was treated by the Edina Police.

Thomas was not taken to jail. He was driven to a local shopping mall at his request and released. The citation issued to Thomas will be dismissed.

The officer involved was following established protocol. However, under the circumstances, the City will review that protocol and determine how to better approach this type of incident with greater sensitivity in the future.
We will work with the Edina community and invite other organizations to participate in this very important conversation. There are lessons we should and will learn from this experience.

Hovland's statement, which was posted on the city of Edina Facebook page Sunday, has already drawn hundreds of comments and reactions.

Commenter Hajira Majid wrote:

The video clearly shows a white police officer harassing a black man for NO reason at all. Please address this with fairness and justice. The country is watching.

Meredith Boone Tutterow said

I don't accept that laying hands on--and subsequently handcuffing--a pedestrian is consistent with "established protocol." Mayor Hoveland, our community is better than this. Laranie Thomas deserves an apology, the police involved deserve consequences, and the entire Edina police force needs training. Additionally, if this action was truly consistent with established protocol, the city of Edina probably needs a good lawyer.

Christian Johnson commented

If this was one of my kids walking in the street, I would be thanking the police for acting in the same manner (including holding on to my kid) and protecting him from potentially getting hit by a car. If you want to argue that the police could have handled the situation better, fine...but so could have Larnie.

The Edina police maintain the man was defiant and say the video does not tell the whole story. A statement by the Edina Police Department released Friday states that while "it’s your right" to film police interactions with the public, "it’s important to note that attempting to interact with the officer and/or suspect creates a greater risk to the safety of the officer, suspect and bystanders."

A video of one of our police officers is circulating online. This incident started several minutes prior to the recording. During that time, our police officer observed a man walking southbound on Xerxes Avenue at West 60th Street in the southbound lane of traffic, though there is a sidewalk on the east side and a sidewalk under construction and a paved shoulder on the west side of the street.

Recognizing the risk to the safety of the public, the officer pulled in behind the man with his lights and an audible signal in an attempt to advise him to get out of the roadway. The man, who was wearing headphones, turned and looked at the officer and continued walking in the lane of traffic. The officer then drove in front of the man by approximately 15 feet, to block him from continuing in the southbound lane of traffic. The man deliberately went around the squad car and continued to walk in the lane of traffic. The officer got out of his vehicle and started to follow the man, asking him to get out of the lane of traffic and stop. The man did not stop and was defiant. It was after that point that the recording began. The officer smelled alcohol on the man’s breath during the incident. A breathalyzer later confirmed the presence of alcohol.

As a bystander, it’s your right to film officer interactions. However, it’s important to note that attempting to interact with the officer and/or suspect creates a greater risk to the safety of the officer, suspect and bystanders. Public safety is our first priority. It makes it more difficult for officers to deal with the situation on hand when they are at the same time dealing with the distractions of bystanders.

Edina is one of the wealthiest suburbs in the Twin Cities metro. It has a white population of 88.1 percent. Black residents make up 3 percent of the population.

The man, identified by the Star Tribune as Larnie B. Thomas, 34, of Minneapolis, was later cited for disorderly conduct and pedestrian failure to obey a traffic signal before being released. That citation will be dismissed, according to the mayor.

The video was filmed by Janet Rowles, who said she drove by Thomas in the 5900 block of Xerxes Avenue S. as he was walking on the white line dividing the road’s shoulder from the traffic lane.

Rowles said she assumed Thomas was avoiding the sidewalk because it was under construction. Rowles stopped her vehicle and began filming plainclothes police officer Lt. T.F. Olson, who is seen in the video grabbing the back of Thomas’ jacket.

"I witnessed and videoed this earlier today," reads the description in Rowles' video.

"I passed by a man who was walking on the white line of the shoulder of the street. There was construction and it was obvious that the sidewalk was not available right there so he was hugging the right side as far as he could go. I went around him and noticed in my rearview mirror that an unmarked SUV turned on police lights. The officer pulled in front of the pedestrian to cut him off and proceeded to accuse him of walking in the middle of the street."

"I’m not against the police,” Rowles told the Star Tribune. “I was against what he was doing.”

Advisory: Profane language can be heard in this video.

Image via YouTube