1 Dead, Officer Injured After Traffic Stop Turns Deadly
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A Minnesota State Patrol officer shot and killed a 48-year-old woman Saturday afternoon in Oakdale, Minn., after she dragged him down the road as he hung halfway out her window, police said.
At a press conference Saturday, police said the trooper pulled the woman over at 1:40 p.m. for a routine equipment failure stop near the intersection of Interstate 94 and Century Avenue.
According to the Minnesota State Patrol, the trooper saw nothing out of the ordinary at first. The woman was alone, and when she was asked to get out of her car, investigators said she spoke with the trooper for some time.
It wasn't until the woman got back in her car that the trooper saw what he suspected to be drugs. That's when the woman tried to escape.
"The trooper, trying to stop the driver, reached through the passenger window at about the same time the driver took off under rapid acceleration," said Lt. Col. Matt Langer. "The trooper became hung up half-way inside the vehicle half-way outside the vehicle and he fired his service weapon as he was being dragged down the freeway."
Investigators said the trooper was dragged more than 200 feet before he fired his weapon.
The woman was taken to Regions Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Langer said the officer, who suffered road rash on his knees and one of his wrists, is lucky to return to his family Saturday night.
Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) Senior Special Agent Drew Evans said the preliminary investigation showed there was a large amount of suspected narcotics in the woman's car.
Investigators described the suspected drug as a white crystal-like substance. Investigators said they would test it to determine what it is.
The trooper's name and the that of that woman who was killed have not been released.
An autopsy has been scheduled for Sunday.
The trooper, who has 12 years on the job, is on paid administrative leave, which is standard procedure, while the BCA investigates the circumstances behind the traffic stop and the shooting.
