St. Cloud Police Explain Mistaken Gunpoint Stop of Wrong Man

(KNSI) – St. Cloud police are explaining why officers drew a gun on a man they mistook for an armed robbery suspect last week.

In a press release, Police Chief Jeff Oxton stated the stop happened at 9:53 a.m. on Thursday, September 24th on the city’s south side. According to the chief, officers realized within seconds that they had the wrong person and ended the stop. Police say the man was not involved in the crime they were investigating.

Oxton says it started at 8:12 a.m. that morning, when Osseo police asked St. Cloud officers for help finding a suspect in an armed robbery and assault involving a handgun. According to the department, Osseo police described the suspect as a 22-year-old Somali man, 5-foot-9 and 165 pounds, driving either a Chevy Malibu or a Chevy Impala. Osseo police also provided an address the suspect may have been frequenting in St. Cloud and later a license plate number.

Police say two officers went to that neighborhood and saw a man loading things into a Chevy Malibu in a driveway five to seven houses from the address. The department says officers believed he matched the suspect’s age, race, gender and size, and the first three letters and last digit of his license plate matched the suspect vehicle’s plate.

Oxton says the officers started a felony stop, and one officer drew his handgun. About five seconds later, according to the chief, the other officer noticed the plate didn’t fully match, and both officers ended the stop. Police say the officers tried to explain why they believed he was the suspect before releasing him. The department says the man was never handcuffed and no physical force was used.

According to police, the man has requested and received all reports and body camera footage from the stop. He has also shared his account on social media and has provided the video to media outlets.

Oxton says the department’s priority now is giving the man time to meet with police and review everything that led to the stop, including the body camera footage.

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