The PIT maneuver or TVI is a law enforcement pursuit tactic in which a pursuing vehicle forces another vehicle to turn sideways abruptly, causing the driver to lose control and stop. It was developed by BSR Inc. and first used by the Fairfax County Police Department in Virginia, United States, in 1988.
The Northstar Line is a commuter rail route in the US state of Minnesota. Northstar runs 40 miles (64 km) from Big Lake to downtown Minneapolis at Target Field using existing track and right-of-way owned by the BNSF Railway. Passenger service began on November 16, 2009. The rail line serves part of the Northstar Corridor between Minneapolis and St. Cloud. Planning for the line began in 1997 when the Northstar Corridor Development Authority (NCDA) was formed. The corridor is also served by Interstate 94 and U.S. Highway 10. In 2023, the system had a ridership of 142,200, or about 500 per weekday as of the fourth quarter of 2023.
Road rage is aggressive or angry behavior exhibited by motorists. These behaviors include rude and verbal insults, yelling, physical threats or dangerous driving methods targeted at other drivers, pedestrians or cyclists in an effort to intimidate or release frustration. Road rage can lead to altercations, damage to property, assaults, and collisions that result in serious physical injuries or even death. Strategies include cutting motorists off, inappropriate honking, using obscene gestures, flipping off another driver, swerving, tailgating, brake checking, and attempting to fight.
On July 19, 2015, in Cincinnati, Ohio, Samuel DuBose, an unarmed man, was fatally shot by Ray Tensing, a University of Cincinnati police officer, during an off-campus traffic stop for not having the front license plate on the vehicle.
On July 6, 2016, Philando Castile, a 32-year-old African American man, was fatally shot during a traffic stop by police officer Jeronimo Yanez of the St. Anthony police department in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area.
On July 15, 2017, Justine Damond, a 40-year-old Australian-American woman, was fatally shot by 31-year-old Somali-American Minneapolis Police Department officer Mohamed Noor after she had called 9-1-1 to report the possible assault of a woman in an alley behind her house. Occurring weeks after a high-profile manslaughter trial acquittal in the 2016 police killing of Philando Castile, also in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area, the shooting exacerbated existing tensions and attracted national and international press.
On August 7, 2020, Julian Edward Roosevelt Lewis, an unarmed 60-year-old Black American carpenter, was fatally shot by white Georgia State Patrol officer Jacob Gordon Thompson, on a rural road in Screven County, Georgia. Thompson attempted to stop Lewis for driving a vehicle with a broken tail light. When Lewis failed to stop, Thompson performed a PIT maneuver to force Lewis's car into a ditch and shot Lewis once in the face. On August 14, Thompson was charged with felony murder.
Mary Frances Moriarty is an American attorney and politician serving as the County Attorney of Hennepin County, Minnesota. She is a member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL). Moriarty previously served as the Chief Public Defender of Hennepin County.
On April 11, 2021, Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old black American man, was fatally shot in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, by police officer Kimberly Potter during a traffic stop and attempted arrest for an outstanding warrant. After a brief struggle with officers, Potter shot Wright in the chest once at close range. Wright then drove off a short distance until his vehicle collided with another and hit a concrete barrier. An officer administered CPR to Wright; paramedics were unable to revive him, and he was pronounced dead at the scene. Potter said she meant to use her service Taser, shouting "Taser! Taser! Taser!" just before firing her service pistol instead.
On May 10, 2019, Ronald Hardin Greene, an unarmed 49-year-old Black man, was killed after being arrested by Louisiana State Police following a high-speed chase outside Monroe, Louisiana. During the arrest, he was stunned, punched, pepper sprayed and placed in a chokehold. He was also dragged face down while handcuffed and shackled, and he was left face down for at least nine minutes. At least six white troopers were involved in the arrest; five were criminally charged in December 2022.
Law enforcement authorities fatally shot Winston Boogie Smith Jr., a 32-year-old black American man, in the Uptown area of Minneapolis at 2:08 p.m. CDT on June 3, 2021. Smith was being pursued by a U.S. Marshals Service task force that apprehends wanted fugitives. The arrest operation had the participation of undercover agents from several local police agencies in Minnesota. The officers did not use body cameras or dashcams when apprehending Smith. Controversy over the lack of law enforcement footage of the arrest operation led to local police agencies ceasing aid to the Marshals Service's fugitive task force, and to changes to body and dash camera policies by the Marshals and other federal law enforcement agencies.
Civil unrest began in the Uptown district of the U.S. city of Minneapolis on June 3, 2021, as a reaction to news reports that law enforcement officers had killed a wanted suspect during an arrest. The law enforcement killing occurred atop a parking ramp near West Lake Street and Girard Avenue. Police fired several rounds, killing the person at the scene. In an initial statement about the encounter, the U.S. Marshals Service alleged that a person failed to comply with arresting officers and produced a gun. Crowds gathered on West Lake Street near the parking ramp soon afterwards as few details were known about the incident or the deceased person, who was later identified as Winston Boogie Smith, a 32-year-old black American man.
