A Minneapolis man was charged Wednesday in Ramsey County District Court with four counts of falsely reporting police misconduct in St. Paul.
Franchize Baby McWright, 27, accused a St. Paul police officer of pulling a gun on him, stealing his phone and illegally searching his phone and car during an April traffic stop, according to the criminal complaint.
But the stop — which was prompted by a large crack in McWright’s windshield — didn’t go that way, according to video from the squad car, charges said.
The police used McWright’s phone, which he handed to one of the officers, to confirm his insurance information because he didn’t have a paper copy of his insurance card, only a picture in his phone, the complaint said.
McWright demanded to see the officers’ supervisor and medics, because “he was having a panic attack and experiencing PTSD from the traffic stop.” He was evaluated by medics at the scene and filed complaints with Sgt. Stephen Lentsch and Cmdr. Steve Frazer, charges said.
Frazer later determined there was no merit to McWright’s claims after an investigation of the allegations and a review of the squad video, according to the complaint.