Paramedics called to a Target store in Minneapolis on Oct. 31 saw a man roll his eyes away and force his eyes shut when they tried to move his eyelids, according to the complaint. They concluded he was not unconscious. Officers say the 28-year-old Waconia man was pretending to be unconscious while they searched him after a theft at the store.
Officers on patrol at the store had been alerted to a man concealing merchandise in a suitcase, the complaint says. They watched him push a cart of merchandise through the exit doors without making a purchase and moved to stop him near the front exit. The total value was $1,531.50. He did not have permission to take it, the complaint says.
The man left the cart and ran back into the store, then doubled back to the exit. An officer grabbed him and pushed him to the ground. He pushed the officer away with his legs and ran toward a light rail platform. The officer drew a Taser and gave repeated loud commands to get on the ground. The man raised his hands but would not comply and kept moving erratically, the complaint alleges. The officer deployed the Taser with no effect and pushed the man to the ground again as he kept resisting.
READ MORE → Hennepin County coverage
Officers identified the man as Anthony Dupree Edwards Jr. While they searched him, the complaint says, he began acting as if he could not stand. Officers lowered him to the ground and placed him in the recovery position. After paramedics said he was not unconscious, he was taken to a hospital.
Edwards is charged in Hennepin County District Court in a complaint filed Nov. 9 with felony theft of property worth more than $1,000 but less than $5,000, which carries up to five years in prison or a $10,000 fine or both. Two misdemeanor counts, obstructing legal process by interfering with a peace officer and fleeing a peace officer on foot, carry up to 90 days in jail with fines of up to $700 and $1,000 respectively, or both. The complaint does not include a statement from Edwards.
