grosland051508

StarTribune.com content is available via e-mail, mobile devices and as RSS feeds.

Mobile content

Advertise with us

Home

Oakdale man convicted of shooting Minneapolis officer

Israel Lee Anderson attempted to kill a Minneapolis police officer and could get 30 years in prison.

By ROCHELLE OLSON, Star Tribune

Last update: May 14, 2008 - 7:46 PM

An Oakdale man was convicted Wednesday of six counts related to the attempted murder of a Minneapolis police officer in November.

Israel Lee Anderson, 34, will be sentenced June 10 by Hennepin County District Judge William Koch and could get three decades in prison for shooting Dan Grosland and another man.

"The justice system served us all well," Police Sgt. Jesse Garcia said. "It just goes to show, you don't shoot police officers in Minneapolis."

The jury began deliberations late Monday and a verdict was reached just before lunch Wednesday. The panel convicted him on five counts: two counts of attempted second-degree intentional murder and three counts of first-degree assault.

The judge also found him guilty of being a felon in possession of a firearm. (He had a conviction in 2002 for possessing a controlled substance.)

The incident occurred early in the early morning of Nov. 26 as bars were closing in downtown Minneapolis, and a crowd gathered in a parking lot at 3rd Street and Hennepin Avenue S.

According to the complaint, as the officers approached they saw 12 to 15 people shoving and kicking each other and one man on the ground being beaten.

Grosland moved into the crowd to stop the beating while another officer sprayed a chemical irritant. Both were on duty and in uniform. As they tried to stop the assault, they heard four gunshots. Grosland was struck in the ankle by a bullet and fell.

Another man was hit in the buttocks.

After the shots were fired, another officer looked at Anderson, saw him holding a handgun and saw him fire two more shots in the direction of the crowd and the officers.

Anderson then ran; the officer caught up to him near Nicollet Avenue.

As the verdicts were read, Anderson sat quietly with his lawyer, Earl Gray. The defendant's girlfriend ran screaming from the courtroom after the first guilty verdict. Gray declined to comment.

Grosland is back at work and performing light duty. His recovery remains uncertain, and he testified in court that he may require additional surgery.

Rochelle Olson • 612-673-1747

Continue to next page