Chief: Squad car wasn't speeding before fatal crash
Minneapolis Police Chief Janee Harteau says the squad car that collided with and killed a motorcyclist last Friday wasn't speeding.
She held a news conference Wednesday to respond to questions about the incident, which happened when a squad car was responding to a report of two officers shot.
The two Minneapolis police officers were chasing a burglary suspect, and followed him into a home in the Uptown neighborhood of Minneapolis, where the suspect, Terrance Franklin, was killed and the two officers injured.
Harteau said data from the cameras inside police squad cars showed the squad car was traveling at 16-17 mph when it ran a red light through an intersection several blocks from the home with its lights and sirens on.
That refutes claims by some witnesses that the squad car appeared to be traveling at higher speeds. She said the motorcyclist, Ivan Olivares, ran into the back of the squad car. Harteau said the State Patrol will reconstruct the crash scene.
Harteau said the officer driving the squad car still hasn't given a statement about what happened. She said investigators also haven't talked to the two injured officers, who are still recovering.
She wouldn't say more about what happened with the police shooting, saying investigators are still examining forensics and ballistics to determine who shot whom. She also wouldn't say whether the suspect was armed.
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