ROBBINSDALE, MINN. (KFGO/WCCO) – Robbinsdale police released police body camera and squad car footage from three officers involved in last year’s traffic stop involving 24-year-old Khalil Azad, whose body was found in a nearby lake two days later.
The traffic stop happened July 3, 2022 after Azad fled police in a white SUV. Azad crashed the vehicle on the 3900 block of Lakeland Ave N. and fled on foot.
Two passengers – a man and a woman – remained inside the vehicle.
Links to the footage can be found here. [WARNING: Videos contain strong language.]
Footage from officers identified as Heasley, Heifort and Phenow show officers and K-9s walking through the woods, but there is no indication that they ever made contact with Azad.
In late February, Black Lives Matter refuted conclusions made by police and the Hennepin County Medical Examiner that ruled in September of 2022 that Azad’s official cause of death was from “freshwater drowning.”
Black Lives Matter said autopsy photos showed Azad’s face had apparent dog bites. His family also said that he was able to swim.
Last week, Robbinsdale Police Chief Patrick Foley announced they requested the Minnesota BCA conduct an independent investigation.
