Black driver feared for life in Minnesota mistaken ID arrest
A Black man says he was left shaken up and fearing for his life after police arrested him in a Minneapolis suburb in a case of mistaken identity.
Darrius Strong posted an emotional video on Facebook after his arrest in Bloomington on Friday. Strong said four white officers pulled him over, and he had thoughts of George Floyd, the black man who died in a Minneapolis police encounter, after he was placed in the back of a police car.
“I could have been dead today,” Strong said in his video.
Strong said all of the officers approached him with “their guns out,” but Richfield police, one of the agencies involved in the traffic enforcement detail, said only one officer momentarily drew her gun, but she pointed at the ground and never at Strong. The department posted dashcam video of the stop Monday.
Create a More Connected Minnesota
MPR News is your trusted resource for the news you need. With your support, MPR News brings accessible, courageous journalism and authentic conversation to everyone - free of paywalls and barriers. Your gift makes a difference.
Once the officer determined Strong was compliant, she holstered her gun, police said. The officer discovered a different person had used Strong’s name, resulting in an arrest warrant in his name, police said. Strong was released.
Police said the officers "regret the stress Mr. Strong felt.”
Strong said in his video that his arrest “could have ended in a whole different route.”
"Racial profiling is a thing,” he said.