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Beaten by MPD officer, Jaleel Stallings outraged by plea deal
Former MPD officer Justin Stetson is charged with assault and misconduct for the beating of Jaleel Stallings, but a potential deal would allow Stetson to avoid jail.
MINNEAPOLIS — Jaleel Stallings was lying face-first on the ground with his hands up when surveillance video showed Minneapolis police officer Justin Stetson kicking him in the head repeatedly, and striking him nearly a dozen times with his hands and knees.
Now, Stallings says the man who beat him is being offered a plea deal that will spare him any jail time and likely leave him without a felony record.
Stetson has been charged with third-degree assault and gross misdemeanor misconduct by a public officer. The deal is expected to be argued before a judge Wednesday.
“I think what bothers me most is the lack of accountability,” Stallings said in an interview with KARE 11.
The beating occurred on May 30, 2020, while Stetson and his unit were patrolling Lake Street in an unmarked white van amid days of unrest following George Floyd’s murder.
Body camera video captured the leader of the unit, Sgt. Andrew Bittell, telling the officers, “Alright. We’re rolling down Lake Street. The first (expletives) we see, we’re hamming them with 40s,” which are less lethal rubber bullets.
Video shows them firing unannounced at people walking on the sidewalk before the white van comes across Stallings and a few others standing in a parking lot.
“Hit ‘em,” one of the officers yelled. They fired two rounds of rubber bullets, one of which struck Stallings. Stallings, who served in the military and is licensed to carry, said he believed he’d been hit with a real bullet and returned fire.
“At the time, I fired,” Stallings said. “I had no knowledge whatsoever that they were police officers.”
When he realized they were officers, Stallings can be seen dropping his weapon, lying face-first on the pavement and putting his hands over his head.
Stetson is the first one to approach and can be heard on body-worn camera announcing that “he’s on the ground.” Still, surveillance video showed Stetson approach and kick Stallings in the head. According to court documents, he would kick Stallings multiple times, slam his face on the ground and punch or knee him nearly a dozen times.
Stallings suffered facial fractures in the beating but was charged with attempted murder for shooting at the officers. He faced years in prison.
At trial, a jury found Stallings not guilty and agreed he acted in self-defense.
The videos only surfaced as part of the trial and as a result of media attention.
None of the officers have been disciplined by Minneapolis police, but the city settled a lawsuit with Stallings for $1.5 million.
Stetson was eventually charged in December 2022 — more than two years after the beating — with assault. The gross misdemeanor charge was added just last week, ahead of the expected plea deal.
The Attorney General who is prosecuting the case declined to comment on the deal, and so did Stetson’s attorney, Fred Bruno.
Minnesota law requires that victims be notified ahead of a plea agreement. Stallings and his attorney said they expect Stetson will be offered a stay of adjudication on the felony assault charge. That means that if he complies with probation, the charge will be dropped and wiped from his record.
They believe Stetson will be allowed to plead guilty to the gross misdemeanor but any sentence will be stayed, which means no jail time.
Stallings filed an official objection to the agreement with the court, calling the deal “a betrayal of the principles of justice, equity and accountability.”
He also notes that Stetson will be allowed to “walk away from the incident without ‘convicted felon’ marring his reputation, having served no jail time and continuing to receive a monthly disability pension.”
Meanwhile, Stallings says his reputation was ruined when he was labeled an attempted cop killer and he lived not only with the physical effects of the beating but also the fear of going to prison.
In an interview with KARE 11, he noted, “At this point, as the innocent party, I will have served more jail time as a direct result of this than any of the officers involved.”
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The board said performances and classes will cease with the theater’s closure at the end of October.
MINNEAPOLIS — The Minneapolis theater community was dealt a huge blow Friday after it was announced a popular improv performance space will close next month.
Managing director of Uptown’s HUGE Improv Theater, Sean Dillon, confirmed the news to KARE 11 Friday afternoon. Dillon said performances and classes will cease with the theater’s closure at the end of October. A Facebook post published by the theater chalked up the reasons for the decision as “complex, but they ultimately boil down to money.”
“The Board has concluded that, after a series of expected and unexpected challenges, cash flow just cannot sustain the work HUGE was set out to accomplish,” the post reads.
But while the theater maintains the closure comes amid financial troubles, some members of the community believe the closure is related to the resignation of the theater’s co-founder Butch Roy and artistic director Becky Hauser last month. The resignations came after it was alleged the theater whitewashed casting for an upcoming show. The theater’s co-executive and inclusion director, John Gebretatose, went on to write an open letter, questioning the theater’s commitment to diversity among its performers.
Following the resignations, the board released a statement on its website, saying it was “in the process of developing a plan to ensure we reflect our ideal that improv is for everyone.”
The HUGE Improv Theater Board also denied the rumors in its social media post Friday.
“We want to be emphatically clear: the open letter raising concerns about diversity on HUGE’s stage is not the reason for this closure,” the post said. “HUGE was already in a precarious financial situation, and there simply isn’t a viable way forward.
“Our struggle to find sufficient stable funding in no way diminishes the amazing work that HUGE has produced and supported over the years, and more importantly the diverse and enthusiastic community it has fostered.
“We know work still lies ahead to ensure that improv in the Twin Cities is truly a space for everyone, and we look to our community to continue these vital and challenging conversations.”
Co-founder Jill Bernard, who began improv in 1993, is grateful to have helped take the Minneapolis improv scene to new heights.
“When I started improv in 1993, there were very few women, there were very BIPOC performers, and we’ve sort of changed everything that’s possible for people to really hear and use their own voices on stage,” Bernard said. “And I feel like HUGE was a big part of that.”
The theater said it plans to run its shows through October as planned, as well as its fall term classes. The board encouraged the community to support performers and “participate in the life of the theater to the fullest extent you can.”
“There will be more to share as we move forward, but for now: thank you all for everything you have given to this place, and for always being the beating heart of what makes HUGE HUGE.”
A Shorewood woman died Friday after being hit by a truck while crossing the street.
SHOREWOOD, Minn — A woman died on Friday after being hit by a truck while crossing a highway in Shorewood.
It happened at about 1 p.m., according to Minnesota State Patrol, on Highway 7.
Officials said the 65-year-old woman from Shorewood was walking across the highway at Christmas Lake Road when she was struck by a Ford F150 that was turning left onto Highway 7.
The name of the victim has not yet been made public.
After four years, mounting safety concerns, and a Public Utilities Commission hearing, 100+ wind turbine blades stuck Grand Meadow could finally be on the move.
GRAND MEADOW, Minn. — Wind turbines are a common sight across southern Minnesota, but a massive pile of more than 100+ discarded wind turbine blades isn’t something you see every day.
Unless you live in Grand Meadow.
“The whole town is upset about it,” said Patti Harvey who lives near the lot where the blades have been sitting since 2020. “It’s a real mess.”
“This is a nuisance,” said Mower County Commissioner, Polly Glynn, who also lives in the town, which is about 20 miles south of Rochester.
“I call it a turbine graveyard,” said Grand Meadow City Administrator, James Christian, who has been looking for a way to remove the turbines ever since it was clear that they had overstayed their welcome. The owners thought they’d be here for about three months. This was supposed to be just a temporary lay-down yard.”
NextEra Energy decommissioned the blades from its nearby windfarm in 2020, and paid a start-up called RiverCap to remove them.
“Initially, (RiverCap) was going to recycle them, and crush them down into an aggregate that would then go into concrete,” Christian said. “And then this spinoff company from RiverCap, called Canvus, they were going to turn them into furniture. Outdoor furniture.”
“Everything sounded wonderful, but it just didn’t get done,” said Glynn, who said she spoke to and emailed with the recycling company several times. “But every deadline has come and gone.”
Eventually, Glynn said both companies went out of business and the blades became a growing health and safety issue.
“It’s nasty, just nasty stuff,” Havey said. “It’s dirty and the kids want to play on it and there’s all kinds of critters that live in those things.”
“We’ve had a lot of problems with animals out here,” Christian said. “Raccoons, foxes, and other animals that shouldn’t be in town.”
After yet another deadline came and went in July, Christian stopped playing nice.
“I knocked on every door and called every number I could find until I finally got to the Utilities Commission,” he said.
After looking into the site permit for the wind farm, Christian decided to file a complaint against NextEra Energy.
“In the initial permit application, they said that they were going to have these things taken care of, recycled or put in a proper facility,” he said.
In the PUC hearing about that complaint on Thursday, NextEra Energy representatives said they do not have ownership of the blades, but with the owners out of business and unresponsive the commission ordered NextEra to take action.
“When we do these permits, we expect you to act in good faith and follow your commitments and you have the permit obligation to put them at an appropriate facility,” said commissioner John Tuma. “I find it not appropriate. I find that sticking it in Grand Meadow is not a final resting place.”
NextEra Energy then agreed to get to work.
“Removal must start by Oct. 5 and must be completed by Dec. 15 of this year,” Christian said. “It felt like I was finally being listened to.”
“James (Christian) has really stepped up and tried to get this out,” Glynn said. “I feel pretty good that we’ve got some clout behind it now. Hopefully, it will get done.”
Christian: “I’ll believe it when I see it, but I do have a little more faith than I had yesterday morning.”
Erdahl: “Are they going to throw you a parade if this actually happens?”
Christian: “There was mention yesterday of a parade once the final truck leaves town. Put some banners and ribbons on it.”
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