A 37-year-old man was charged Monday with trying to torch an unoccupied Minneapolis police squad car parked on Nicollet Mall.
Man charged with trying to torch unoccupied Minneapolis police car on Nicollet Mall
The flames damaged the squad's rear bumper and under carriage, according to authorities.
January 10, 2022 at 6:48PM
Elias L. Lavelle, of Minneapolis, was charged with arson in connection with putting a gasoline-soaked T-shirt beneath the squad, which was parked on the sidewalk outside Walgreens, where the officer was working off-duty inside.
Lavelle has yet to be located, and a warrant was issued for his arrest.
According to the criminal complaint:
The officer walked out of the store and saw something on fire under his squad. He put out the fire. Mechanics located damage to the rear bumper and undercarriage.
Images from city surveillance cameras showed a man, later identified as Lavelle, approach the squad from behind. He walked away, grabbed something from his backpack and lit it on fire. He returned to the back of the squad and placed the lit object underneath before boarding a transit bus.
On Jan. 1, Lavelle was involved in an assault on a light-rail train. Based on clothing and the transit card used the day of the fire and upon boarding the light-rail train, investigators determined he was person involved in both crimes.
“This was certainly not an outcome that we were hoping would materialize, and we know that today’s path forward does not provide a perfect solution,” interim OCM director Charlene Briner said Wednesday.
