Mom says son held dying friend shot by St. Louis Park officer

Details still unknown about altercation that led an off-duty St. Louis Park police officer to shoot a passenger in a parking lot where the driver had hit a traffic cone.

By PAUL WALSH and ABBY SIMONS, Star Tribune s taff w riters

Last update: November 6, 2009 - 8:51 PM

The pickup truck passenger who was fatally shot this week by an off-duty St. Louis Park police officer during a traffic stop died in the arms of the truck's driver, the driver's mother said Friday.

Karl W. Foster, 31, of Brooklyn Park, was the driver early Tuesday, when officer John Herman had an altercation with one of the two men in the pickup that ended with the officer shooting Jason A. Martin, 29, last listed as living in Champlin.

Foster was jailed for about six hours Tuesday on outstanding warrants and probable cause of driving while intoxicated, then released pending charges, according to jail records.

Authorities have not disclosed whether Martin or Foster were armed or what started the altercation.

Maria Foster, of Brooklyn Park, said Tuesday that her son was with Martin that night when the two stopped at a gas station in St. Louis Park before heading for Mystic Lake Casino in Prior Lake.

They had missed their exit, her son told her, and he had turned around in a small parking lot near Minnetonka Boulevard and Salem Avenue at about 2 a.m. A strong wind was whipping against the pickup's camper.

In the parking lot, Foster apparently struck a traffic cone, causing the truck to move erratically, she said. They stopped and Foster got out to look beneath the truck for the cone as Martin got out on the passenger side.

"They saw a regular car coming just as Karl was pulling the cone out," Maria Foster said. "[The police officer] had regular clothes on and a regular car."

Maria Foster said she did not know how the struggle started that led to Martin's death and would not elaborate on several details, citing her son's desire to hire a lawyer. She said her son was not physically hurt but is having trouble coping with what happened.

"His friend was in his arms when he died," she said. "Physically, Karl's fine. Mentally, it's tough. They've been friends since 17 years of age. That's a long time."

Foster's criminal history in Minnesota includes felony convictions for burglary, auto theft, fleeing a police officer and theft. Martin's criminal record included traffic violations and petty misdemeanor possession of a small amount of marijuana nearly a decade ago.

Herman, a 5 1/2-year veteran of the department, was placed on paid administrative leave, which is standard as the Sheriff's Office investigates.

Abby Simons • 612-673-4921 Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482