A “Police Shooting” In Minneapolis [Updated]

Last night Minneapolis police officers exchanged gunfire with a suspect whom they had stopped in his vehicle, and the suspect, now identified as Dolal Idd, was killed. The incident immediately became national news. The New York Times was at first hopeful:


Although, if you actually follow the link, the first thing you see in the Times story is that “[t]he chief said witnesses indicated that the man had fired first.”

It wasn’t a traffic stop, either, contrary to the Times report. It has subsequently been reported that the stop was incident to a firearms investigation.

In any event, a crowd of demonstrators appeared at the scene. They blocked traffic for several blocks and started a bonfire in the middle of the street to keep warm. Authorities pleaded with them not to riot or commit arson. Eventually the crowd dissipated, but that was probably due to the temperature dipping down to an overnight low below ten degrees rather than to the fact that the decedent, a criminal, opened fire on the officers. Rioting is more fun in May and June.

A little while ago, the Minneapolis Police Department released body cam footage of the incident. Here it is:

This was no traffic stop. Multiple police vehicles converged on the suspect’s car. He first tried to drive away and then, blocked, started shooting at the officers. They returned fire.

Why did he do that? I don’t know. Likely drugs were a factor. But the decedent, Dolal Idd, had a long history as a criminal. The Star Tribune has some of it:

In 2019, Idd was convicted of illegally possessing and firing a gun in Hennepin County. The charges say, in July 2018, Idd fired a gun in the basement shower of his parents’ home around 1 a.m. with two children sleeping nearby.

Idd’s mother told Eden Prairie police that her son was not permitted in the house because “he scares the children.” Police arrested him later in Bloomington with a 9mm handgun that had been reported stolen in North Dakota, according to charges.

Idd, for whatever reason–perhaps because he knew he was guilty of crimes that would lead to a long prison sentence, or maybe he was just high–decided it was better to try to kill the police officers than to surrender. That decision usually proves suicidal, as it was here.

This is an example of police-perpetrator interaction that is of no use to the Left, and therefore will not be heard of again, in leftist journals like the New York Times and the Minneapolis Star Tribune. But the Star Tribune couldn’t resist wrapping up its story by returning briefly to the left-wing narrative:

Without any knowledge of who had been killed, [Harold] Moses said that Wednesday night he immediately assumed the victim was Black. After George Floyd was killed he stopped allowing his 15-year-old son, who is part Filipino, from jogging in the neighborhood because of concerns about safety risks imposed by the public and police. He also has a 12-year-old daughter.

“Nothing seems to change — policing and people’s attitudes,” he said.

That conclusion is ambiguous at best. Policing hasn’t changed, in the sense that if you shoot at a police officer, he or she is likely to shoot back. The Strib obviously doesn’t like that fact. But how about “people’s attitudes”? Does Moses mean the irrational attitude that causes “demonstrators” to riot, loot and commit arson, or to protest and start bonfires in support of a criminal who tried to murder police officers? Neither he nor the Strib is saying.

UPDATE: More information is coming out about Idd’s criminal history. These are the 2014 assaults of which he was convicted: [Update: A commenter says that there are two brothers, Dolal Bayle Idd, who was shot, and Dalal Bayle Idd, who committed the assaults and robberies described below. Having looked at the records again, I think this is correct.]

According to the charges, officers received a 911 call around 5:50 p.m. Sunday at the Life Time Fitness on 6233 Baker Road. Upon arrival, they met with the victim who was barely conscious and bleeding from injuries to his face.

He had multiple lacerations and his eyes were swollen shut. He was unable to speak to officers and was transported to the hospital. He suffered a nasal fracture, among other injuries.

The charges state Idd and Maqadin entered the locker room and approached the victim. Idd then repeatedly punched the man before taking his wallet and fleeing, according to the complaint.

A witness was able to get the license plate off their vehicle, as the two men drove away. Police watched surveillance video from the gym and recognized Idd, from prior contacts.

During the officer’s investigation, a second assault was reported a few blocks away. Witnesses to the second assault gave a description of the suspect that was similar to Idd.

He has also been charged with burglary and assault in that case.

Both suspects were located at a nearby apartment building and placed under arrest. Police say Idd was bleeding on his knuckle and there appeared to be blood on his pants.

The Life Time Fitness victim’s wallet was also found in Idd’s pants pocket, according to the charges.

Idd admitted to police that he went into the locker room with the intent of robbing someone and punched the victim five or six times in the face.

Idd appealed his sentences to the Minnesota Court of Appeals, unsuccessfully. The Court of Appeals opinion has more information about the second burglary and assault:

After fleeing the fitness center, Idd entered a nearby home through the garage and punched and kicked the homeowner. The homeowner’s wife and children were in the home at the time of the assault. Idd left the home after the homeowner’s wife screamed, but entered the home a second time and continued to assault the homeowner. As a result of the assault, the homeowner suffered numerous injuries, including multiple facial fractures. …

The next day, while being detained at the Hennepin County Adult Detention Center following his arrest for these offenses, Idd repeatedly punched a guard in the face.

Idd’s case is an instance of what Paul has referred to as our under-incarceration problem. According to the Department of Corrections web site, Idd was scheduled for release on January 31, 2023. We know from the firearms case mentioned the Star Tribune report that he was out of prison and again committing crimes by mid-2018. I have seen no explanation of why he was released early, but by rights he should have been in prison. Had he been incarcerated, this incident never would have happened. [Update: I now think that this was the brother with almost the same name, who presumably is still in prison.]

FURTHER UPDATE: Here are the details on Dolal Bayle Idd’s 2018 firearms arrest.

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