US Marshals 'Misleading' On Body Cam Policies: Ramsey Co. Sheriff

RAMSEY COUNTY, MN — Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher has decided to remove his agency from the federal task force whose members shot and killed Winston Boogie Smith, Jr., a 32-year-old Black man, in the busy Minneapolis neighborhood of Uptown Thursday.

Fletcher said his deputies on the United States Marshals' "North Star" fugitive task force were not allowed to equip themselves with body-worn cameras prior to the shooting.

The sheriff also accused the Marshals of issuing "misleading" public statements about body cameras following the shooting, the Star Tribune reported.

"In Minnesota, the Marshals office has refused to allow us to wear body cameras since the advent of the technology, and any new policy has not been implemented," Fletcher said, according to the Star Tribune.

The sheriff's comments conflict with a statement from the Marshals Saturday, which said that in "October 2020, the U.S. Department of Justice issued a Body-Worn Camera (BWC) policy to permit TFOs to utilize body-worn cameras on federal task forces. In February 2021, the U.S. Marshals Service began to phase-in this policy, which continues to be implemented in the District of Minnesota."

Deputies with the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Department wear body cameras except when they serve on the North Star Fugitive Task Force, a spokesperson told Minnesota Public Radio.

There is no squad camera or body camera footage of the fatal encounter, according to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA), which is leading the investigation into the shooting.

On Thursday, the Marshals task force was alerted about the location of a man who had a warrant for a felony firearms violation, the BCA said.

At one point, the man fired his weapon from inside a car before he was killed, according to the BCA. A woman who was in the car at the time was treated for minor injuries from glass debris.
There were no other injuries reported.

The Hennepin County Medical Examiner later identified the man as Winston Boogie Smith, Jr., of St. Paul.

Fatal shooting sparks unrest

A crowd of onlookers and protesters quickly grew near the scene of the shooting Thursday afternoon. Overnight, "numerous" buildings were vandalized and looted in response to the fatal shooting, according to Minneapolis police.

Protesters set a dumpster on fire, KSTP reported.

Windows at the Lake Street CVS were smashed in and the inside of the store was vandalized, according to the Star Tribune. The nearby Lake Street Tires Plus was also vandalized the newspaper reported.

The fatal shooting happened hours after city workers began clearing the barriers at George Floyd Square Thursday morning.

The U.S. Marshals Service and the Ramsey County Sheriff's Office could not be immediately reached for comment.