"We Have A Problem With Young People Making Bad Decisions"

Yesterday the Saint Paul Police Department posted about a traffic stop that could have had another ending after police pulled a car over which had a 17-year-old with multiple guns in his possession. The teen even went so far as to pull a gun out on an officer. The post describes the battle over control of the weapon and then the arrest that followed the traffic stop. Saint Paul Police put it rather bluntly, "We have a problem with young people making bad decisions."

The post, which you can read the entire text of below, has been shared over 600 times in less than 24 hours and has seen mostly positive responses on social media.

Saint Paul, we need your help.

Already this year, your officers have recovered more than 480 guns, including two from a 17-year-old male last night.

Take a close look at these photos, which are still frames from body-worn camera footage captured on the 600 block of Case Avenue after a concerned 911 caller reported two vehicles chasing one another through alleys at high rates of speed.

It was just before 6 last night when officers locate the silver Chevy Malibu described by the caller.

The squad pulled up and three males took off running. The driver of the Malibu rolled up his window. Another male nonchalantly leaned on the car until officers approach and noticed the outline of a gun and an extended magazine in his sweatshirt pocket.

The officers reached for him, and he tried to run.

Training kicked in and the officers grabbed the suspect. Then the gun fell out of his sweatshirt and onto the ground. The suspect pulled a second gun from his waistband—a silver revolver. Thankfully, an officer was able to take control of the second gun, preventing a potential tragedy.

Down they went.

They were on the pavement, struggling. One officer tried to get the suspect’s arms behind his back while another kept an eye on one of the dropped guns so nobody else would pick it up. Still, the suspect resisted. Three excruciating minutes later, the suspect is safely restrained, both of his guns (loaded, with one in each chamber) were secured.

Saint Paul, we have a problem with young people making bad decisions.

Since April 2020, this suspect has been arrested seven times in Saint Paul—three times for gun crimes, once for aggravated assault, once for burglary, once for an occupied burglary and once for a robbery. He also had five felony warrants, including one for possession of an assault rifle.

We all got lucky last night on the 600 block of Case Avenue. Nobody got shot, nobody got hurt. These officers did an awesome job. Their work is a textbook example of how training pays off—sadly, entirely too often. But things could have ended very, very differently. Already this year, 164 people have been struck by gunfire in our city.

If you know who’s illegally carrying the guns, call us before anyone else gets hurt.

Please note: The suspect in this case has been charged with two counts of possession of a firearm and one count of obstructing the legal process.

These are the situations, in which we see a split reaction from the officers, that can often end deadly for either the suspect or the officer.

Like the St. Paul Police posted about, over 480 guns have been taken off the streets this year in just Saint Paul, if you see something, say something, this cycle of violence that seemingly is at a constant boil in both Minneapolis and Saint Paul has to end, and sooner rather than later.

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