Rep. John Thompson, DFL-St. Paul, was cited July 4 for driving while under suspension after police say he was pulled over for not having a front license plate. Days later at a rally in St. Paul, Thompson described the encounter as an example of being profiled by police because of his race.
Thompson, who has a Wisconsin driver's license, had his driving privileges revoked in Minnesota in April 2019 in a Ramsey County child-support case. Doug Neville, a spokesman for the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, said Thompson was reinstated Wednesday "after taking care of the child-support issue." Neville said Thompson does not hold a Minnesota driver's license and has never had a license issued by the state.
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Thompson was pulled over at 1:18 a.m. Sunday near Seventh Street E. and Wacouta Street because his vehicle did not have a front license plate, St. Paul police spokesman Steve Linders said. Linders said Thompson identified himself as a state representative and presented a Wisconsin driver's license before the sergeant cited him for driving after suspension of driving privileges. Linders said Thompson accused the sergeant of racially profiling him after receiving the citation. The sergeant reiterated to Thompson that he stopped him because he did not have a front license plate as required by state law, Linders said.
New Minnesota residents must apply for a state license or permit within 60 days of becoming a resident. Thompson previously had told the Pioneer Press that he had lived in St. Paul for 18 years.
https://www.startribune.com/st-paul-police-chief-disputes-dfl-rep-john-thompson-s-racial-profiling-claim/600076586/
In an earlier report on KSTP, the reporter added
Meanwhile, Thompson declined to give St. Paul Police permission to release the body camera video of his traffic stop. That prompted the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association to issue a statement demanding the video's release.
"Rep. Thompson's signature issue at the state legislature was advocating for rapid release of police officer's body camera footage," MPPOA Executive Director Brian Peters said. "Now he's blocking the public release of body camera footage of his own incident with law enforcement this past week. As a public official, it's hypocritical and irresponsible. Constituents have the right to see how their legislator conducted himself, particularly when he made such strong claims about what happened during the traffic stop."
https://kstp.com/politics/saint-paul-police-chief-axtell-wants-apology-from-minnesota-state-representative-john-thompson/6166663/
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If you are a state representative you should have a MN license.
Democrats, too, can be hypocrites.
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