MINNEAPOLIS — The Hennepin County Sheriff's Office is requesting that the Washington County Sheriff's Office investigate whether there were any policy or procedure violations during a high-speed chase and crash Monday, June 5 in Minneapolis.
HCSO initially reached out to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension to review the incident, but was told the BCA doesn't conduct policy reviews.
Seven people were taken to the hospital following the pursuit and crash that included a 12-year-old boy — now 13 — who was allegedly driving the vehicle. The boy has been charged with six felonies, including four counts of criminal vehicular operation, one count of fleeing a police officer and one count of receiving stolen property. As of Wednesday, none of the other five juveniles who were in the stolen Kia with the driver had been referred for criminal charges, according to Hennepin County Attorney's Office communications director Nicholas Kimball. Due to the age of those involved no additional information is being released at this time.
All six juveniles were detained following the pursuit, which ended in a violent crash that disabled two vehicles, destroyed a bus shelter and injured seven people. Besides the driver, sheriff's officials say the others inside the stolen vehicle were ages 14, 15, 15, 15 and 16.
What the sheriff's office would not confirm, is whether a gun was recovered during the arrest that would tie the young suspects to an alleged spree of violent crime associated with the silver Kia SUV. Authorities said the vehicle was tied to multiple armed robberies, attempted robberies and carjackings that triggered Monday's pursuit.
On Monday night the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office released a statement saying that "due to the violent nature of the earlier incidents, VOTF (HCSO Violent Offender Task Force) detectives and MPD officers initiated a pursuit consistent with department policy."
In the same release sheriff's officials said the pursuit began around noon Monday when members of the VOTF and Minneapolis Police saw the silver Kia driving erratically and recognized that it may be involved in a trail of violent crimes.
The Kia fled and eventually ended up turning onto Olson Memorial Highway (Highway 55), driving at a high rate of speed. An unsuspecting motorist pulled out onto the highway and was struck by the stolen vehicle, with both careening into the bus shelter and a man standing either inside or nearby.
That man was taken to the hospital, as were the juveniles involved in the incident. Some of those young suspects were trapped inside the twisted Kia, while others tried to escape on foot but were caught by responding deputies and officers.
On Tuesday, it was revealed that four of the juveniles remained hospitalized, while two have since been placed in custody.
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