Up ahead, I saw a St. Paul police vehicle pull into an overlook on Mississippi River Boulevard. I did what I always do when I see the law.
I slowed down. I wasn’t exceeding any limits. As I drew closer, I saw the officer get out of his squad and begin to walk to the edge of the wide and ancient ravine, 10,000 years old that cut, if not older.
For all I know, the guy might have lost a pair of sunglasses. I almost stopped, just for the hell of it, but I didn’t, on the off chance the officer might have wanted some solace. Good day for it.
The wind was howling and all that roiling and fast-running water can put a fellow’s mind at ease, if only for a moment or two. Soon enough, he had to get back behind the wheel and deal with life, or death, the reality of what has become of us. On May 30, a Minneapolis officer, Jamal Mitchell , was murdered by a career criminal, identified by authorities as Mustafa Mohamed, 35.
Mitchell was responding to shots fired and an active shooter at an apartment complex on Blaisdell Avenue South. Mitchell saw Mohamed and believed him to need assistance, which he tried to offer. Mohamed had two active warrants for his arrest at the time of his death; he was shot by other arriving officers.
Mohamed was a convicted felon. He wasn’t supposed to have a gun. His criminal record goes back to when he was 17 and convicted of auto theft, according to news accounts.
“All I can tell you is that Officer Mitchell was attempting to assist the individual who s.
