Minneapolis Cop Gets Less Than 1 Year In Jail After Deadly Crash

MINNEAPOLIS — Former Minneapolis police officer Brian Cummings was sentenced Wednesday to less than a year in jail after pleading guilty to criminal vehicular homicide in April.

Cummings was ordered to serve 270 days in the Hennepin County Adult Correctional Facility, officials announced.

The 39-year-old was convicted for his role in the July 2021 high-speed police chase through a residential neighborhood that ended when his squad car hit and killed a bystander, 40-year-old Leneal Frazier.

Frazier was the uncle of Darnella Frazier, the woman who won an honorary Pulitzer Prize for filming the murder of George Floyd on her cell phone.

Cummings admitted in court to driving with gross negligence, entering an intersection at a red light at an extraordinarily high rate of speed, with no justifiable reason for doing so.

"Community members expect that those empowered to enforce the law will not callously disregard the lives of others when they do so," Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said in a statement.

"Thankfully, Mr. Cummings’ criminal conduct is not representative of the many enforcement officers who act and drive responsibly with respect for the safety of our community members each and every day. Good police work is a critical part of public safety, and we expect police officers will not break the law under the pretense of enforcing the law. Mr. Cummings’ actions fell far short of those expectations."

Cummings is the first former Minneapolis officer to be convicted of a crime since Derek Chauvin was found guilty of murder in Floyd's death.

According to the criminal complaint, on July 6, 2021 around 12:30 a.m., Cummings spotted a Kia Sportage matching the description of a stolen vehicle suspected to be involved in several thefts.

Cummings tried to pull over the car, but the Kia sped off, authorities said. Cummings pursued the vehicle in his marked squad car with sirens and lights activated, the complaint states.

The chase continued for more than 20 blocks through North Minneapolis, including residential neighborhoods.

Cummings chased the Kia at nearly 100 mph at times, authorities said. The officer was driving 90 mph as he approached the intersection of 41st Avenue North and Lyndale Avenue North, where the speed limit is 25 mph, according to investigators.

At that speed, it takes about 337 feet to come to a complete stop, the criminal complaint states.

Frazier’s Jeep entered 41st Avenue North and Lyndale Avenue North, where a green light gave him the right of way, authorities said.

Both the Kia and Cummings faced a red light, and the Kia nearly missed Frazier's Jeep going 100 mph, the criminal complaint states.

Cummings’ squad car — going about 78 mph —collided with Frazier’s Jeep on the driver’s side at the intersection, according to investigators. Frazier was going 25 mph, authorities said.

Frazier died at the scene.

An accident reconstruction team concluded that "This collision can be attributed to the Defendant for failure to operate his vehicle with due regard for the safety of other motorists."