MINNEAPOLIS — A judge sentenced a former Minneapolis police officer Wednesday morning for fatally crashing into another motorist during a 2021 high-speed pursuit.
Brian Cummings was sentenced to 270 days in the Hennepin County Adult Correctional Facility, after admitting in April to killing 40-year-old Leneal Frazier by driving with gross negligence.
The criminal complaint filed against the former officer alleged that Cummings was pursuing the driver of a stolen vehicle early the morning of July 6, 2021, reaching speeds close to 100 miles per hour for nearly 20 blocks.
The chase wound through north Minneapolis, including residential neighborhoods. Eventually, prosecutors said Cummings ran a red light at Lyndale and 41st Avenues North and collided with a Jeep driven by Frazier, who died from the significant injuries he sustained in the crash.
Four members of Leneal's family gave victim impact statements at a hearing in the Hennepin County Government Center Wednesday morning before the judge handed down Cummings' sentence.
"We're asking please send him to jail. It's not a lot of time but it's something," said Leneal's brother, Richard Frazier.
"We do wrong...we get the consequences of whatever we did wrong. I feel the law should get the same thing too. Murder is murder," Leneal's uncle, Dwayne Jackson announced in the courtroom.
"My brother is gone. Send him to jail he is still going to get out and be with his family. My brother... he's gone. He is not here. This man right here, he has been home two years. Nothing happened to him," Leneal's brother, Anthony Frazier told the judge.
"I think about my father every day and I suffer seeing this man in this courtroom today. I'm angry because I can't ever see him again," added Leneal's daughter, Lanesha Frazier.
"Today's sentencing sends an important message that every person in our county will be held accountable for their actions when they break the law. Mr. Cummings has acknowledged he had other options that day and should not have continued the pursuit through city streets at such high speeds, causing excessive danger to others on the road," said Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty in a news release. "The criminally-negligent driving to which Mr. Cummings admitted will not be tolerated, and he has now been held accountable in the criminal legal system."
Back in April when Cummings accepted a plea deal in the case, Leneal's brother Richard Frazier told reporters, "We're happy we got some justice. Something is better than nothing... Is that enough time? No. But, that's the charge. That's what comes with it. So, we accept it – not fully, but we're dealing with it."
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