Minneapolis cop charged in chase that killed innocent driver

By STEVE KARNOWSKI
Associated Press

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Minneapolis police officer has been charged with manslaughter and vehicular homicide for a crash in July that killed an innocent motorist while the officer was pursuing a stolen vehicle. Authorities say Officer Brian Cummings was driving nearly 80 mph in Minneapolis with his siren and lights activated when his squad car slammed into a different vehicle, killing 40-year-old Leneal Frazier. Frazier was the uncle of Darnella Frazier, whose cellphone video of Derek Chauvin kneeling on George Floyd’s neck in 2020 was viewed worldwide and helped launch a global protest movement against racial injustice. The Frazier family and their attorneys welcomed the charges, saying no innocent civilian should ever die because of unwarranted high-speed chases.