St. Paul police release 911 transcript, body cam video of shooting after assault call

Mara H. Gottfried, Pioneer Press
Updated ·5 min read
5

As a St. Paul officer shouted for a man to show his hands — so police could see if he had a weapon — and to slowly come out of an apartment, he dashed out at them, body camera footage released Friday shows.

Officer Ryley Reschke yelled, “He’s got something!” and officer Josh Needham fired his gun three times.

Brett Kohl Fraser, 31, was shot once in the arm.

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, the agency investigating, said Wednesday that St. Paul police responded to a Frogtown apartment after midnight last Saturday on reports of a man physically and sexually assaulting a woman. A 911 caller reported the suspect had a gun.

Crime scene personnel found a replica handgun in a backpack in the apartment; the BCA hasn’t said whose gun it was.

Fraser has been released from the hospital. He was then jailed on warrants unrelated to last Saturday’s incident and is now out of custody. A case has not been presented for charging consideration in the assault that police were called to last weekend.

“Last Saturday our officers were called to a violent crime involving a firearm,” St. Paul Police Chief Axel Henry said in a statement Friday. “These types of calls are among the most serious we are asked to respond to. In addition to an independent investigation, we are committed to the release of body worn camera footage as it relates to our actions and the situation we were sent to.”

What the 911 caller said

St. Paul officers responded to a 911 call last Saturday about 12:20 a.m. A male had called, saying he was in a building in the 400 block of Thomas Avenue and a man in another apartment was raping a woman, according to a transcript of the call requested by the Pioneer Press.

A 911 telecommunicator asked how the caller knew the information and he said he’d seen them. The worker asked if he’d seen what was going on.

“Yes, he’s been beating her,” the caller said.

“Okay, but how do you know that he’s sexually assaulting her?” the telecommunicator asked.

“She was screaming,” the male replied.

“She was screaming that this was going on?” the worker asked.

“Yes,” he said.

The caller said he could hear the man beating the woman.

“They’re not supposed to be there,” the caller said.

“How do you know they’re not supposed to be there?” the telecommunicator asked.

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“Used to live here,” the caller said.

The telecommunicator asked if there was a weapon involved.

“Gun,” the caller responded and answered that the male had it.

The caller said, “They’re screaming at each other. She’s trying to tell him to get away. She’s crying.”

To questions from the telecommunicator, the caller said he saw the gun “maybe like … 10 to five minutes ago” and said the male was aiming it. The 911 employee asked who he was aiming it at and the call cut off.

Earlier, the caller had given a first name, but said he couldn’t provide his last name or phone number.

BCA investigation continues

Portions of body-worn camera footage from Reschke and Needham show Needham kicked the apartment door several times when they arrived and said, “St. Paul police, open the door!” A woman opened the door and exited the apartment.

Reschke stood at the entry and yelled “St. Paul police, show your hands!” into the apartment. Fraser ran out of the apartment about 30 seconds after the woman opened the door.

A recent court document listed Fraser’s address as the Thomas Avenue apartment building.

When the BCA completes its investigation, it will present a case file to the Ramsey County attorney’s office about the allegations against Fraser and the use of force by Needham, said Bonney Bowman, a BCA spokesperson. The BCA’s goal is to complete use-of-force investigations within 60 days.

“This investigation is complex and the actions of Mr. Fraser and Officer Needham are closely tied together,” Bowman said. “Presenting one without the other would mean a lack of context for both.”

Anoka County cases

After Fraser was treated at the hospital, he was taken to jail for his warrants — not connected to Saturday’s case — that were issued in November when he didn’t appear in court for three Anoka County cases.

Fraser was released Wednesday from the Anoka County jail. He couldn’t be reached for comment Friday and an attorney representing him in Anoka County said he had no comment.

Prosecutors charged Fraser in October after Walmart loss prevention reported seeing a male, later identified as Fraser, conceal multiple items and leave the Fridley store. He had a white crystal substance in his wallet that field tested positive as methamphetamine, and four pills that Fraser said were fentanyl, according to a criminal complaint charging him with two counts of drug possession, one felony and one gross misdemeanor.

In March, Fraser walked out of Cub Foods in Blaine on Northtown Drive carrying a box of diapers he hadn’t paid for and was cited for misdemeanor theft, according to a complaint.

In August 2022, a police officer was dispatched to Target on Springbrook Drive in Coon Rapids on a report of a person using drugs at the store’s entrance. The officer saw Fraser sitting against a pillar on the sidewalk in front of the store. He appeared to be sleeping and had in his lap a piece of tinfoil with burnt dark residue, and Fraser told the officer he’d been using fentanyl, a complaint said. He was charged with gross misdemeanor drug possession.

Fraser was in court Wednesday for the cases and bail was set at $5,000 without conditions or release on his personal recognizance with conditions.

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