Former Minneapolis Police Officer Sentenced For Fatal Crash
Minneapolis, MN (KROC-AM News) - A former Minneapolis police officer has been sentenced to 270 days in jail for causing a fatal crash while he was engaged in a high-speed chase two years ago.
Court records show 40-year-old Brian Cummings was also placed on probation for three years for his conviction on a criminal vehicular homicide charge. He also faced a manslaughter charge in the case, but it was dismissed through a plea agreement.
Cummings, who lives in St. Paul, was accused of gross negligence for pursuing a suspected stolen vehicle at speeds approaching 100 mph in residential neighborhoods in North Minneapolis in the early morning hours of July 6, 2021. The criminal complaint alleges his squad car, which did have its emergency lights and sirens activated, was traveling at about 90 mph in a 25-mile-per-hour zone just before it collided with another vehicle at an intersection controlled by traffic lights.
The court document says the other driver, 40-year-old Laneal Frazier, at a green light and drove into the intersection and nearly collided with the fleeing vehicle before his Jeep was hit broadside by the squad car. Frazier was fatally injured in the high-speed collision.