Minneapolis police officer fired after Tasering cooperative suspect (Star Tribune)

Minneapolis police officer fired after Tasering cooperative suspect:

A Minneapolis police officer accused of Tasering a compliant suspect to the ground has been fired from the force, a source close to the department said. Todd Lappegaard, who faces a federal lawsuit over the April 30, 2009, incident, sent an e-mail to many in the police department in the past several days in which he said he had been let go... The lawsuit stems from an arrest that took place shortly before midnight in which Rolando Ruiz, 18, was suspected of damaging a police cruiser parked at the Second Precinct on Central Avenue. The arrest, recorded by a video camera on Lappegaard's cruiser, began with Ruiz standing in front of Lappegaard's car with his hands on the hood. Lappegaard then places a Taser on Ruiz's neck and stuns him. "As plaintiff Ruiz slumped to the ground, Lappegaard held his knee on the plaintiff's back to prevent him from avoiding the electrical shock of the Taser device," the lawsuit reads. "Lappegaard held his free hand on the squad car hood to brace himself as he pinned Ruiz to the ground and continued shocking him." Along with the civil rights violations, the suit lists nine causes of action. Among them it cites a 2002 incident in which Lappegaard was driving a squad car that made contact with a sport utility vehicle driven by a woman fleeing police. She later drove the SUV off the street, hitting and killing a Richfield man who was jogging...

Cop Involved In Taser Incident No Longer With MPD (WCCO)

Cop Involved In Taser Incident No Longer With MPD:

A Minneapolis Police officer who was caught on camera using a Taser on a man who said he had already surrendered is no longer with the force. Sources confirmed to WCCO that Todd Lappegaard, who had already been involved and reprimanded once before for using deadly force before, was no longer working for the Minneapolis Police Department.

On April 30, 2009, Rolando Ruiz was arrested near the Minneapolis 2nd Precinct near Central Avenue... Video from Lappegaard's dashboard camera caught the scene. The video didn't show what happened before Ruiz was told to put his hands on the hood, but it did show Lappegaard use a Taser on the back of Ruiz's neck. Ruiz said he had already surrendered when Lappegaard used the Taser on him. He is suing the City of Minneapolis and Lappegaard for the sum of $400,000.

Former Minneapolis cop Carson charged in five more robberies (City Pages)

Former Minneapolis cop Carson charged in five more robberies:

The charges are piling up for Timothy Carson, a former Marine and Minneapolis police officer already suspected in an Apple Valley Bank robbery. On Tuesday he was charged in Hennepin County with five counts of aggravated robbery. Here are the places and people police say he robbed...

Former Minneapolis police officer charged in 5 robberies (KARE)

Former Minneapolis police officer charged in 5 robberies:

The former Minneapolis police officer suspected in an Apple Valley bank robbery and other heists in the metro has been charged with five armed robberies in south Minneapolis. The criminal complaint says Timothy Carson robbed the Hiawatha Cleaners at 5400 34th Avenue South on December 15th, 2009. It also accuses him of robbing a woman at a bus stop on 28th Avenue South on December 31st, 2009... Carson is accused of robbing two separate SuperAmerica convenience stores on January 3rd, 2010...

Mpls. Ex-Cop Charged With 5 More Robberies (WCCO)

Mpls. Ex-Cop Charged With 5 More Robberies:

A former Minneapolis police officer accused of robbing a bank has now been charged with five other holdups.,, According to the complaint, Carson held up a drycleaners in South Minneapolis... The complaint also states that Carson entered Sovereign Grounds coffee shop in Minneapolis and fled with $65 of stolen money. He is also charged with robbing two Super America stores in the area and a woman at a bus stop...

Former Minneapolis police officer charged in 5 robberies (Star Tribune)

Former Minneapolis police officer charged in 5 robberies:

The former Minneapolis police officer suspected in an Apple Valley bank robbery and other holdups in Dakota County has been charged in Hennepin County with five robberies in south Minneapolis. The criminal complaint against Timothy Edward Carson, 28, describes a spate of armed holdups of a woman at a bus stop as well as a dry cleaners, two SuperAmerica stores and a coffee shop...

Accused bank robber is no longer MPD officer (KARE)

Accused bank robber is no longer MPD officer:

A Minneapolis SWAT team member charged in the takeover-style robbery of a suburban bank is no longer a member of the Minneapolis police force. Twenty-eight-year-old Timothy Carson of Rosemount is charged in federal court with one count of bank robbery for allegedly holding up a Wells Fargo in Apple Valley. He is under investigation in at least 10 other robberies in the area...

(Another copy of the story can be found here.)

Accused Bank Robber is No Longer MPD Officer (KSTP)

Accused Bank Robber is No Longer MPD Officer:

A Minneapolis SWAT team member charged in the takeover-style robbery of a suburban bank is no longer a member of the Minneapolis police force...

Accused bank robber is off Mpls. police force (Star Tribune)

Accused bank robber is off Mpls. police force:

Timothy Carson, accused of robbing an Apple Valley bank and possibly connected to a dozen robberies in the metro area, is no longer a Minneapolis police officer...

Former Minneapolis cop charged in 5 holdups (KARE)

Former Minneapolis cop charged in 5 holdups:

The former Minneapolis police officer suspected in an Apple Valley bank robbery and other heists in the metro has been charged with five armed robberies in south Minneapolis. The criminal complaint says Timothy Carson robbed the Hiawatha Cleaners at 5400 34th Avenue South on December 15th, 2009. It also accuses him of robbing a woman at a bus stop on 28th Avenue South on December 31st, 2009... Carson is accused of robbing two separate SuperAmerica convenience stores on January 3rd, 2010. One store was at 4320 E. Lake St. and the other store was on 6000 Portland Av. South. On January 4th, 2010, Carson is suspected of robbing the Sovereign Grounds coffee shop at 813 E. 48th Street.

Mpls. police officer admits to being a serial bank robber (KARE)

Mpls. police officer admits to being a serial bank robber:

A Minneapolis police SWAT team member was charged Thursday in the takeover-style robbery of a suburban bank, and authorities said he confessed to several other armed robberies in the Twin Cities area. Timothy Edward Carson, 28, of Rosemount, was ordered held without bail during a brief federal court hearing... An affidavit from an FBI agent said Carson admitted robbing the bank, and "admitted having committed numerous other armed robberies" in Dakota and Hennepin counties. It didn't say whether he told investigators why...

Cop Used Police Dept. Gun In Robbery (WCCO)

Cop Used Police Dept. Gun In Robbery:

The gun that was used in an Apple Valley bank robbery, where the accused robber is a Minneapolis police officer, last belonged to the Minneapolis Police Department. Timothy Carson borrowed the gun from the department after his personal gun was stolen from his car in Apple Valley in 2008. The borrowed gun was not returned to Minneapolis Police until after Carson was arrested...

More Charges Expected For Robber Cop (WCCO)

More Charges Expected For Robber Cop:

More charges are expected against a Minneapolis police officer charged with robbing an Apple Valley bank on his way to work last Wednesday. Minneapolis investigators tried to talk with Tim Carson about the five robberies he admitted doing after he was arrested last week. He told investigators that he needed the money...

More questions than answers for Mpls. police officer turned bank robber (KARE)

More questions than answers for Mpls. police officer turned bank robber:

... Minneapolis police officer and swat team member Timothy Carson has admitted to robbing the bank. Federal court records show Carson was on a one man crime spree. He's the suspect in robberies at several other businesses along County Road 42 in Apple Valley and admitted to crimes in both Hennepin and Dakota counties...

(Story can also be found here.)

After Robber Cop, Depts. Question Hiring Practices (WCCO)

After Robber Cop, Depts. Question Hiring Practices:

A Minneapolis cop who confessed to a string of robberies across the Twin Cities is a former Marine and served in Iraq for two years. The discovery may force police departments across Minnesota to review their hiring practices... As a member of the Minneapolis Police Department for three years, Carson's employment records show he completed all the requirements and he moved up the ranks quickly. A year after he started he was promoted to the SWAT team. It's a special unit assignment that usually takes an officer three years to get...

Mpls. cop admits to robberies as colleagues ask why (Star Tribune)

Mpls. cop admits to robberies as colleagues ask why:

The Minneapolis police officer accused of robbing an Apple Valley bank and linked to as many as a dozen other armed robberies was described by colleagues Friday as a quiet, good cop, and he received multiple awards for his service with the U.S. Marines Corps Reserves, which included a yearlong deployment to Iraq. Timothy Edward Carson, 28, reportedly told investigators that he needed the money but did not explain further...

Cop arrested after robbing bank on his way to work (KARE)

Cop arrested after robbing bank on his way to work:

A Minneapolis police SWAT team member was charged Thursday in the takeover-style robbery of a suburban bank, and authorities said he confessed to several other armed robberies in the Twin Cities area... [Timothy Edward] Carson was charged with one count of bank robbery in the holdup at a Wells Fargo bank in Apple Valley one day earlier. He did not respond to the charges at the hearing except to say he understood them, and did not enter a plea... An affidavit from an FBI agent said Carson admitted robbing the bank, and "admitted having committed numerous other armed robberies" in Dakota and Hennepin counties. It didn't say whether he told investigators why... They found some of the black clothing and backpack in a trash can outside the station, the affidavit said, and in his locker they found $2,940 in cash taken from the bank and the gun used in the robbery...

MPD Officer Arrested in Dakota Co. Robberies (KSTP)

MPD Officer Arrested in Dakota Co. Robberies:

A Minneapolis police SWAT team member was charged Thursday in the takeover-style robbery of a suburban bank, and authorities said he confessed to several other armed robberies in the Twin Cities area...

Mpls. SWAT officer arrested in suburban robberies (MPR)

Mpls. SWAT officer arrested in suburban robberies:

A Minneapolis police SWAT team member was arrested Thursday in a string of robberies in suburban Dakota County...

FBI: Gun, Cash From Robbery In Officer's Locker (WCCO)

FBI: Gun, Cash From Robbery In Officer's Locker:

A Minneapolis Police officer and member of the department's SWAT team has been arrested in connection with four separate robberies in Dakota County... He was arrested after a bank robbery in Apple Valley on Wednesday. Sources said Carson, who worked in the 3rd Precinct of South Minneapolis, allegedly robbed the bank while he was on his way to work. Authorities said Carson was arrested at the precinct station. His locker at work was searched and evidence was confiscated...

Minneapolis SWAT cop arrested in suburban bank robbery (City Pages)

Minneapolis SWAT cop arrested in suburban bank robbery:

Minneapolis police officer Timothy Edward Carson has been arrested after allegedly robbing a bank in Apple Valley on Wednesday -- perhaps even on his way to work -- and is being held at the Dakota County jail...

Minneapolis cop charged with bank robbery (Star Tribune)

Minneapolis cop charged with bank robbery:

Minneapolis police officer Timothy Edward Carson's shift on Wednesday started at 9 a.m. But he wasn't there. By the time he told a supervisor he was running late at 9:30, the FBI says, Carson had robbed an Apple Valley bank and was well on his way to getting caught. Carson, 28, was arrested early Thursday and appeared in federal court Thursday afternoon, charged with bank robbery. More criminal charges are expected to follow...