Minneapolis, MN
Man sentenced to 12 years in prison for attempted murder in shooting of Minneapolis police officer
![Man sentenced to 12 years in prison for attempted murder in shooting of Minneapolis police officer Man sentenced to 12 years in prison for attempted murder in shooting of Minneapolis police officer](https://arc.stimg.co/startribunemedia/CFGMMP3UFVDW3DQK3ERFVZA7NM.jpg?h=630&w=1200&fit=crop&bg=999&crop=faces)
Olivia Spies, 12, crossed the courtroom gripping a lined piece of notebook paper and gathered her strength. Her dad stood beside her, gently placing a hand on her back as she conveyed the pain their family endured when a stranger shot and wounded him in the line of duty last summer.
“What he did was horrific and devastating to me — and I will never forgive him,” she told the judge Thursday, recounting the shooting of Minneapolis police officer Jacob Spies. “My dad is a hero and does many courageous things for people he doesn’t even know.”
Fredrick Davis Jr., 19, of Minneapolis, received a 12-year prison sentence and was convicted of attempted second-degree intentional murder during an emotional hearing Thursday, packed with uniformed police officers and command staff. Davis pleaded guilty last month, admitting to firing a dozen rounds at Spies, who was driving an unmarked car with tinted windows, on Aug. 11 during a joint enforcement detail on the North Side.
But Davis denied intentionally targeting a police officer, saying he pulled the trigger out of fear.
In his victim impact statement, Spies recounted how he’d been patrolling alone when he spotted a white SUV suspected of fleeing police following a robbery an hour earlier. He pursued the vehicle for about a mile and, just as he crested a hill, noticed the Chevy parked with its lights off.
Suddenly, Spies was overtaken by a volley of automatic gunfire — a sensation similar to having fireworks thrown at his car — and felt his right arm go numb.
He frantically radioed for help and sped away from the scene, expecting to drive himself to the hospital. But responding officers intercepted their wounded colleague and police initiated a high-speed chase that continued for 26 blocks until the Chevy crashed into a parked car.
The bullet remains embedded in the back of Spies’ shoulder, “a permanent souvenir” from that chaotic night.
“This was a calculated and planned ambush,” said Spies, a seven-year MPD veteran who was awarded a Medal of Honor and the department’s first Purple Heart. He lamented that Davis influenced a younger boy into participating and continued down a path of “felonious criminal activity” several years after Spies arrested him fleeing police in a stolen vehicle.
In December, a 17-year-old who shot at Spies but didn’t strike him also pleaded guilty to attempted second-degree murder. As part of his plea deal, William Ward Jr. is receiving treatment at the Red Wing juvenile facility and will remain on extended probation until he’s 21.
Senior Assistant County Attorney Patrick Lofton noted that Davis was riding around with multiple guns — one fully automatic and the other an unregistered ghost gun — with a juvenile in the car. It was mere luck that Spies survived the ordeal, he said, arguing that Davis’ actions demonstrated an extreme risk to public safety.
“His behavior exhibits a worldview in which you shoot first and ask questions later,” Lofton said, imploring Hennepin County Judge Hilary Caligiuri to impose a nearly 13-year prison term, the top of the sentencing guidelines box.
In response, Davis’ public defender Elizabeth Karp urged the court to consider the context. Davis survived a gunshot wound to the chest a year prior at the State Fair, resulting in lasting trauma. It made him afraid to leave the house, she said, and he obtained a firearm from a relative for protection.
Karp pushed back on the prosecutions’ depiction of Aug. 8, explaining that Davis saw an unknown vehicle following him that night and immediately “kicked into a fight or flight mode.”
“Mr. Davis made a bad choice in a panicked state of mind,” Karp said, acknowledging that it was not an excuse for what happened. “I don’t think the evidence shows that he knew who was in that car.”
She asked that the judge sentence Davis to 11 years, the lowest end of the box.
When given a chance to speak, Davis turned to his family in the front row and broke down explaining that he “didn’t know it was a police officer.” Davis said he took responsibility for crime, but denied forcing anyone else to participate or ever fleeing police that day.
“I’m not a bad person at all…I got family too,” he said, sniffling as he pleaded with the judge for a lighter sentence. “Everybody should get a second chance at life. Everybody makes mistakes.”
Caligiuri opted for a sentence near the top of the range, taking six months off for his willingness to accept a plea deal. Davis will spend less than 8 years in prison after accounting for time already served. In Minnesota, those sentenced to prison spend two-thirds of the sentence in custody and one-third under supervision.
His family left the courtroom wiping their eyes, then walked through a flank of two dozen uniformed officers taking turns embracing Spies in the hallway.
Outside, Davis’ mother who declined to be identified defended the character of her son, a high school graduate and “a good person… who has been through more than what people actually know.”
“To know Fred is to love Fred,” she said.
In the lobby, surrounded by fellow officers and Chief Brian O’Hara, Spies hailed the conclusion of a long criminal justice process that has weighed on his family.
“I’m glad it’s over,” he said, thanking the broader law enforcement community for their outpouring of support. “It means a lot to me.”
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Minneapolis, MN
Davide Harabagiu Highlights Night 3 On Minneapolis Futures With 52.95 100 Fly
![Davide Harabagiu Highlights Night 3 On Minneapolis Futures With 52.95 100 Fly Davide Harabagiu Highlights Night 3 On Minneapolis Futures With 52.95 100 Fly](https://swimswam.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/harabagiu-Davide_settecolli-2023.jpg?1722048742)
2024 FUTURES CHAMPIONSHIPS- MINNEAPOLIS
Davide Harabagiu highlighted night 3 of competition in Minneapolis swimming to a 52.95 in the 100 butterfly. That was just off his personal best of a 52.75 from Settecolli in Rome last month. Harabagiu swims collegiately for Minnesota but originally hails from Italy.
Also highlighting the night was Annike Parkhe who swam to a 58.85 in the 100 fly, the only swimming under the 1:00 mark. Parkhe has a best time of a 58.58 that she swam for 13th during prelims of US Olympic Trials last month. She finished 16th in semifinals in a 59.02.
Finishing behind Parkhe in the 100 fly was Grace Rabb who swam a 1:00.28. Later in the session, Rabb earned a win touching in a 2:32.69 in the 200 breast. Rabb, a Florida commit, swam a best time in the 100 fly as her previous best was a 1:01.36. Her 200 breast best time stands at a 2:32.39 from May.
The final winner on the women’s side was Katie McCarthy who won the 400 free in a 4:15.81. McCarthy was 34th in the event at US Trials in a 4:14.90 and has a best time of a 4:14.89.
The men’s 400 free was a battle as Jiarui Xue earned the win in a 3:59.16 touching just ahead of Chase Maier who swam a 3:59.24. Xue has a best time of a 3:59.00 and is committed to Princeton while Maier dropped a huge best time as his previous best was a 4:05.01.
Sirui Wang won the 200 breast in a 2:17.24, almost a five second drop from his previous best of a 2:22.05 from May. He was a 2:22.65 in the event at the last summer.
Minneapolis, MN
Minneapolis City Council introduces new safety plan with alternatives to police response
![Minneapolis City Council introduces new safety plan with alternatives to police response Minneapolis City Council introduces new safety plan with alternatives to police response](https://images.foxtv.com/static.fox9.com/www.fox9.com/content/uploads/2023/08/1280/720/minneapolis-city-hall.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
Minneapolis leaders lay out new safety plan
The new plan folds in efforts already underway like the behavioral response team which is sent on some crisis calls where police are not necessary, or a new traffic control unit that is staffed by people who are not sworn officers. But the real purpose of the Safe and Thriving Communities plan is to offer a sort of road map to public safety.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – Minneapolis City Council members are asking the public for feedback on a new public safety model that they hope will restore trust in public safety services.
Officials say the Public Safety Beyond Policing Action Plan is based on an outline of a community safety system that will include “preventative, restorative and response services beyond policing.”
What we know
City leaders say they are moving to codify the Public Safety Beyond Policing Action Plan after the Minneapolis Safe and Thriving Communities Blueprint that was announced last year.
READ MORE: Minneapolis leaders lay out a new plan for community safety
The first draft of the Public Safety Beyond Policing Action Plan was presented earlier this week. City officials say public comment and feedback on the 10-year plan will be taken for 45 days.
An overview and briefing detailing the progress of the Safe and Thriving Communities Report was presented during Wednesday’s Public Health and Safety Committee (PHS).
Public engagement and comment sessions will also be held in front of the PHS committee before the final adoption of the plan, which is expected to happen in the fall of 2024.
What they’re saying
Minneapolis officials say “there has been little or unclear movement on implementation by the administration” since the last city-wide community safety plan last year.
A news release announcing the latest policing plan said there are concerns over a “lack of seriousness” about the city implementing a new comprehensive safety system.
Vice Chair of the Public Health and Safety Committee and City Council Member Robin Wonsley said the following in the same news release: “Council is serious about realizing the comprehensive public safety system that our residents have asked for since May 2020. We can have a city where there are a multitude of preventive, responsive, and restorative services to meet our public safety needs efficiently and equitably. The Safe and Thriving Communities Report and the Public Safety Beyond Policing Action Plan includes a clear ten-year guide to make this vision a reality.”
Public Health and Safety Chair and City Council Member Chavez said “Ward 9 is home to one of the most diverse communities in the whole state and residents are deeply engaged in leading on public safety work. Residents are tired of empty promises and slow progress when it comes to their safety needs. The time to act is now and the Council is ready to continue to lead on keeping all of us safe.”
Minneapolis City Council President Elliot Paynes released a statement saying “This is the City Council flexing our oversight responsibility. The administration put forward a plan with the Safe and Thriving Communities report and we are making sure the promise of this plan is fulfilled with transparency and with the input of our community at the center of it.”
Background
This is the latest development after the Safe and Thriving Communities plan was announced last year. Advocates say it took a “holistic approach” to public safety.
That plan came after the development of a plan was requested by Mayor Jacob Frey in 2021.
City officials say they are currently in phase one of implementing the Safe and Thriving Communities plan.
The Minneapolis City Council also approved a new police contract earlier this month that includes a nearly 22% pay raise for officers over the next three years.
Minneapolis, MN
Minneapolis park board, striking workers reach tentative deal
![Minneapolis park board, striking workers reach tentative deal Minneapolis park board, striking workers reach tentative deal](https://assets3.cbsnewsstatic.com/hub/i/r/2024/07/25/e488b862-0e24-4cba-8166-bc16c0e07103/thumbnail/1200x630/b854b66f0fa8538935af882fbf822321/630a-vo-striking-park-u-wcco5u2u.jpg?v=5501038cbc281520ff9fdc308faab7dc)
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