Family of Leneal Frazier sues Minneapolis for his death in 2021 police chase

The family of Leneal Frazier, an innocent bystander who was struck and killed by a Minneapolis police officer during a high-speed chase in 2021, has filed a federal lawsuit against the city for his death.

Frazier’s family alleges the Minneapolis Police Department’s history of engaging in high-speed pursuits unnecessarily put Frazier and other bystanders at risk and that people of color were disproportionately likely to die in such incidents.

Former Minneapolis police officer Brian Cummings was traveling around 90 mph through a residential north Minneapolis neighborhood when he hit Frazier’s SUV on July 6, 2021. Cummings pleaded guilty to criminal vehicular homicide last April and received a nine-month sentence at the Hennepin County workhouse.

The lawsuit claims this incident was not out of the ordinary for Cummings, who had 14 complaints submitted against him since he joined MPD in 2008. Three of those complaints were related to violations of motor vehicle policies.

In the first half of 2021 alone, Cummings had been involved in 12 vehicular pursuits, only four of which ended in an arrest, the filing states. MPD documented 132 pursuits over the entire year.

“The City knew of the facts of the underlying incidents in which Cummings purposely and voluntarily misused his patrol vehicle to initiate and engage in dangerous, high-speed pursuits,” the lawsuit states, adding that he was never “meaningfully” disciplined for his involvement in these pursuits.

The family is seeking a financial judgment against the city and for a jury to conclude that the city violated Frazier’s constitutional rights.

5 EYEWITNESS NEWS reached out to Minneapolis officials for a statement and is awaiting a response.