Ex-MPD officer Brian Cummings sentenced to workhouse, probation in crash that killed Leneal Frazier
MINNEAPOLIS -- The former Minneapolis police officer who caused a fatal high-speed crash that killed Leneal Frazier in 2021 has been sentenced to nine months in the Hennepin County Workhouse and three years of probation.
Brian Cummings, 39, was sentenced in Hennepin County District Court Wednesday morning. Cummings will need to report to the workhouse on the morning of July 26. He will be able to leave the workhouse for certain things, including school and work.
His probation will be supervised and he'll need to comply with many conditions, which include remaining law-abiding, supplying a DNA sample, receiving permission before leaving the state, not possessing guns or ammo, and more.
"Your Honor, I'd like to take this time to acknowledge the great pain and suffering the Frazier family is experiencing," he said before being sentenced. "I'd also like to offer my most heartfelt apology for the untimely death of Mr. Frazier, and I pray that the Frazier family will be able to find the space of peace and healing."
In late April, he entered a plea deal and was found guilty of criminal vehicular homicide. With his plea deal, the second-degree manslaughter charge was dismissed at the time of sentencing.
Generally, sentencing guidelines for a conviction of vehicular homicide carry up to four years in prison, but the judge accepting this plea deal that does not include any time in prison for a few key reasons. The first reason was the basis for the hearing in the first place -- Cummings pleaded guilty, accepted responsibility, and in front of the judge on Wednesday expressed remorse.
According to the Hennepin County Attorney's Office, Cummings' guilty plea is believed to be the first time a Minnesota police officer has pleaded guilty to a homicide offense "without having previously been convicted and sentenced to prison or having a promise of a concurrent sentence in another jurisdiction."
The judge noted Cummings was also amenable to probation, and since the deal was endorsed by both prosecutors and the defense, the deal stood.
There was a significant amount of pain and frustration expressed among Frazier's family, but also they said that, no matter what the sentence could have been, it wouldn't bring back their lost loved one.
"My dad died at 45. My brother died at 40. At least my dad died from complications. My brother died just going home," brother Richard Frazier said.
Family members said that they will soon file a civil lawsuit.
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty released a statement following the sentencing.
"Today's sentencing sends an important message that every person in our county will be held accountable for their actions when they break the law. Mr. Cummings has acknowledged he had other options that day and should not have continued the pursuit through city streets at such high speeds, causing excessive danger to others on the road. The criminally-negligent driving to which Mr. Cummings admitted will not be tolerated, and he has now been held accountable in the criminal legal system.
"My thoughts are with Leneal Frazier's family, and I am hopeful today's sentencing helps them as they go forward without him. They have endured a long road to criminal accountability with patience and dignity. I cannot imagine their continued pain and grief, knowing their loved one's life was wrongfully taken by someone sworn to protect them."
Court documents say Cummings was pursuing a stolen vehicle in north Minneapolis shortly after midnight on July 6, 2021, when his marked squad car slammed into the driver's side of Leneal Frazier's Jeep at nearly 80 mph.
Before the crash, Cummings was following the car at high speeds "at or approaching 100 mph" through numerous stop signs, red lights, and partially obstructed intersections, many of which blocked the view of approaching vehicles, the complaint said.
Cummings said during the plea deal hearing that he was grossly negligent in speeding and driving through a red light when he hit Frazier.
Over a year later, James Jones-Drain was accused of leading Cummings on the chase. He was charged with two felony counts of vehicle theft and one charge of fleeing a police officer in a vehicle, resulting in the death of a victim.
Leneal Frazier, a 40-year-old father of five, was also the uncle of Darnella Frazier, the teenager who recorded the video of George Floyd's murder that was seen around the world.
