MPD Officer Who Shot Car Full Of Passengers Under Investigation
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A Minneapolis police officer is off the streets and under investigation for shooting at a car filled with people.
Officer Efrem Hamilton fired a shot into a car trying to leave the scene of a downtown brawl last month.
He is on desk assignment until an internal affairs investigation is finished.
It happened in a section of downtown Minneapolis where brawls and shootings have been a recurring problem.
On Nov. 19, just after bar closing, Caylea Wade was in a car with five friends, trying to leave the chaotic scene.
"I like didn't really know it was a gunshot until we had our hands up and they were surrounding us, and I started smelling … the shot I guess," Wade said.
Police had responded to a large fight in the 400 block of 3rd Avenue North, where two men had been shot.
Wade says she was told to leave by police. When she was backing up and pulling into the street, she accidently backed into another officer's squad.
That is when the group of friends say they heard a single gunshot, not immediately realizing it was a bullet intended for them.
"Literally, right after the tap and [the cars] hit each other, the officer fired a shot into the vehicle," passenger Michael Hughes. "So at that point we're all just terrified and frightened, and, you know, like what the heck happened here?"
Officer Hamilton, a nine-year MPD veteran, fired at the car's left rear quarter panel -- narrowly missing the passengers. Nobody was injured.
All six passengers gathered Friday at the Hennepin County Government Center for a second rally to demand that Officer Hamilton be fired from the force. They say it is the kind of reckless police behavior that simply must stop.
The Minneapolis Police Department issued a statement, saying in part that "it takes these cases very seriously," and added that the investigative process of review is "thorough and robust."
The case has also been forwarded to Hennepin County's attorney, who will have to determine if the officer's actions warrant any criminal charges.
