Roseville Police Monthly Summary
A monthly highlight of cases, statistics and community engagement in Roseville, MN. 

August 2020



 On August 1, 2020, we released our updated policy manual after several months of comprehensive review.  You won't typically find this task on any Netflix Crime Series, as it isn't the most exciting part of policing.  However, drafting a department policy manual that reflects the values in your community is a very important part of community oriented policing.  

Have you heard of the the 2015 President's Task Force on 21st Century Policing? If not, we highly encourage you to take a look at the Final Report and Recommendations from this task force. Here's an excerpt from the Task Force's Pillar Two: Policy and Oversight: 


"If police are to carry out their responsibilities according to established policies, these policies must be reflective of community values and not lead to practices that result in disparate impacts on various segments of the community. They also need to be clearly articulated to the community and implemented transparently so police will have credibility with residents and the people can have faith that their guardians are always acting in their best interests." (p.19)

We started to publicly post our policy manual shortly after the Final Report of The President's Task Force on 21st Century Policing was published.  We invite you to take a look at our most recent version of the Roseville Police Department Policy Manual and to offer any input, anytime.   
President's Task Force on 21st Century Policing
Click here to view the recommendations from the President's Task Force On 21st Century Policing. 

Farewell Chief Rick Mathwig and Lieutenant Scott Williams. 


Hands down, these two made RPD better through their dedication to the community. Both will be missed, but each left a strong legacy and a solid foundation to build upon during their combined 59 years of service in Roseville. We wish them the absolute best in their next chapters. 

Chief Rick Mathwig Retirement
Chief Mathwig pictured on his last day at RPD. 
Lt. Scott Williams Retirement
Lt. Scott Williams on his first and last day. If it weren't for the squad cars, we wouldn't know which is which. 

PATROL INCIDENT SUMMARIES


Here's a few select incidents pulled from the 2,862 incidents entered into our Record Management System for the month of August 2020. Visit Community Crime Map to see the incidents occurring in your neighborhood. 

CN: 20018826 – Weapon & Stolen Vehicle

Date/Time: 08-05-2020 at 1:03 a.m.
Location: Motel 6, 2300 Cleveland Avenue

Patrol officers approached a male on a suspicious motorcycle in the parking lot of Motel 6. The motorcycle did not have a license plate and the ignition was "punched," a common method used by thieves to start a vehicle without a key.  The patrol officer confirmed that the male suspect was driving a stolen motorcycle, carrying a large amount of marijuana on his person, and carrying a stolen firearm. Ultimately, the suspect was arrested and formally charged with felony possession of a firearm by an ineligible person, felony motor vehicle theft, and felony 5th degree possession of marijuana.

Firearm recovered from an ineligible person.
Did we mention that this firearm was listed as stolen? 
1 Pound of Marijuana
Though Marijuana generally isn't as dangerous as harder narcotics like Meth, Heroin, or Cocaine, we still find weapons and other felony violations alongside higher quantities of Marijuana.  Pictured is One Pound of Marijuana, possibly sourced from Colorado. Some dealers print and adhere stickers to their product in order to make bags or jars of Marijuana appear to be "dispensary grade."   
Punched Ignition on Stolen Motorcycle
Most vehicle owners would not punch an ignition to start their own vehicle as it can eventually render the vehicle inoperable. 

CN: 20019214 – Shots Fired

Date/Time: 08-08-2020 at 11:58 p.m.
Location:  Rose Place and Walnut St / 35W and Cleveland / 2565 Walnut St.

A Roseville Officer was on patrol when he observed approximately 10-20 vehicles in the area, which appeared to be street racers. By the time officers responded to a request for back-up, there were approximately 150-200 cars in the lot. While formulating a plan on how to break up the racers and move them along, Officers heard approximately seven gunshots from the area of the racers. Officers activated their emergency lights and entered the parking lot to look for potential victims/suspects. The scene quickly became chaotic with a large number of people scrambling to get in their vehicles and a mass exodus of street racers heading north on Walnut Street. A witness informed officers that a person in a vehicle had pointed a gun in the air and fired it. After the racers had all cleared the area, officers located eight 9mm shell casings. No victims have come forward and no further suspect leads have been obtained. 

Street racing and "informal" large gatherings of street racing enthusiasts have been on our and our neighboring agencies' radars for years.  The challenge with the behavior is how quickly they gather (likely through cell phones, social media groups, and other apps) and how such a large number of cars can quickly migrate to/from municipalities in attempt to dodge law enforcement with the use of Police Scanner apps, look-out cars, etc. 

Please, continue to report suspected street racing.   

One of the eight 9mm casings found.
One of the eight 9mm casings found where a group of 150 - 200 cars gathered. 

CN: 20020050 – Recovered Stolen Vehicle

Date/Time: 08-18-2020 at 2:50 a.m.
Location: Long Lake Road and County Road C


A Roseville Officer was on patrol when his attention was drawn to a group of people and two vehicles. He was familiar with one of the vehicle as the owner has a history of drug and firearm related incidents. After several minutes of surveillance, one of the vehicles left, then returned, and then left again at a high rate of speed. Officers performed a traffic stop of the vehicle. The occupants stated they had just purchased the vehicle.

The male passenger was taken into custody on an active Felony Warrant. The female driver gave officers permission to search the vehicle. In the trunk, they located several different license plates. They ultimately determined the vehicle was a reported stolen from Minneapolis.

The male stated he purchased three cars from “Lenny and Larry” from a craigslist ad. He said in exchange for the vehicles, he just had to cut the catalytic converters off and give them to Lenny and Larry. The female confirmed this story that the two males buy vehicles and then cut the catalytic converters off and give the vehicles away. She claimed she did not know the vehicle was stolen.

One adult male from Minneapolis was arrested for Felony DOC warrant. One adult female from Minneapolis was arrested for Felony Possession of Stolen Property. 


CN: 20020127 – 1st Degree Robbery

Date/Time: 08-18-2020 at 10:26 p.m.
Location: Speedway, 2380 County Road D

Roseville Officers were dispatched to an incident where a male suspect pointed a gun at a cashier demanded all of the money from the tills. The clerk complied by giving the money to the suspect. The suspect took off on foot leaving the cashier physically unharmed. This case is currently under investigation.


CN: 20020421 – Robbery

Date/Time: 08-22-2020 at 12:10 p.m.
Location: Rosedale Mall, 1595 Highway 36

Roseville Officers were dispatched to a robbery where a suspect took a female victim’s wallet from her hand. The victim and others chased the suspect throughout the mall and parking lot where the suspect entered a vehicle that was occupied by people likely known to the suspect.  The victim jumped on the hood of the suspect’s vehicle and eventually fell off the vehicle while it was moving. The suspect(s) got away and the victim was injured from falling off the vehicle. The victim’s credit cards were used shortly after the robbery occurred. This case is currently under investigation.
Robbery at Rosedale
Social Media can help get the word out and sometimes helps to generate leads on suspects.  According to Facebook insights, this post reached over 90,000 people. 

CN: 20021136 – Shots Fired

Date/Time: 08-30-2020 at 5:49 a.m.
Location: Norwood Inn, 2401 Prior Avenue


Roseville officers were dispatched to the Norwood Inn on several people running around the parking lot screaming.  The caller reported that one person was breaking vehicle windows with a machete and a possible gunshot was heard.

The suspects fled prior to officers arriving.

Officers were approached by a male victim and his two sons. The victim, who is blind, was returning to his room when 6-8 suspects were pounding on his door and began shoving him toward the stairs. The victim stated he recognized the voice of one of the suspects and that of his mother in the group. Eventually, the suspects went to the parking lot and broke out all the windows in the victim's vehicle.

The victim stated his vehicle had been stolen the day before and he believed it was the same suspect(s). Officers located a .40 caliber shell casing near a vehicle with a broken out window. The Ramsey County Attorney declined to charge the case due to lack of evidence. 

Victim's vehicle with windows smashed out.
Ultimately, there wasn't enough evidence or witnesses to support criminal charges.   



Remembering Roseville Officer Howie Johnson

Officer Howard Johnson EOW August 16, 1972
Officer Howard (Howie) Johnson was fatally wounded by gun fire while attempting to arrest a bank robbery suspect. Officer Johnson, age 48, had served with the Roseville Police Department for 15 years.

SEARCH WARRANTS


CN: 20017043 – Financial Crimes Detective executed a search warrant for financial records regarding an ongoing fraud investigation.

CN: 20018826 – General Crimes Detective executed a search warrant on a premise regarding a suspect who was found to be in possession of a stolen vehicle, stolen gun, and a large amount of marijuana.

CN: 20020127 – General Crimes Detective executed a search warrant on a vehicle involved in a robbery investigation.


STATISTICS

2020 UCR Data
2020 FBI Uniform Crime Report Data YTD through August
2019 FBI UCR Data
2019 Uniform Crime Report Data

Select Calls for Service for August 2020
Note: This table rarely matches up with our UCR table due to some calls not yielding an actual crime and some calls yield unexpected crimes. For example, a friend may report that he loaned a car to a friend, but the car hasn't been returned, yet.  This is a breach of trust (civil) not motor vehicle theft (criminal). 

Adult Arrests August 2020
This chart represents the adult arrests and their reported addresses for felony, gross misdemeanor, and misdemeanor crimes during August 2020. *Ramsey and Hennepin County statistics do not include St. Paul and Minneapolis arrests. 

August 2020 Investigative Caseload
*SLO = School Liaison Officer; CSC = Criminal Sexual Conduct / Sex Crimes Investigator.

Still want more data?


Click on the image below to visit our Transparency and Data Sharing Initiative page. It's a work-in-progress and your feedback is always welcome. 

Data and Transparency

COMMUNITY OUTREACH AND ENGAGEMENT


MAC Members on a Zoom Meeting
A screenshot of our first Multicultural Advisory Committee (MAC) virtual meeting from Chief Scheider's home office PC. 

Roseville, meet the RPD Multicultural Advisory Committee or MAC. 


It didn't take long to realize that this is something we should have had years ago. The MAC is a committee consisting of Roseville community members from a variety of backgrounds who are passionate to make positive changes in our community through working alongside the Roseville Police Department. Click here to learn more about RPD's newest community engagement program. Stay tuned for MAC updates. 
Virtual Boy Scouts Tour
Sgt. Holtmeier gives RPD's first virtual tour of the department to a local Boy Scout Troop. 

Virtual Engagement


Now that we know Covid-19 isn't as temporary as we were hoping it would be, we are looking for ways to engage our community safely. Do you have an idea for a webinar, presentation, or other virtual community engagement?  Send your ideas here. 


VOLUNTEERS


Reserve officers volunteered five hours during August. CSO, Liz Peterson, began an unpaid college internship with the Investigations Unit this month. CSO Peterson has gained a great amount of experience over the 36 hours contributed in August. The value of volunteer time in MN is $28.15 per hour for a total of $1,154.15 worth of time this month.

Click here to learn more about volunteer opportunities at RPD.
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Roseville Police Department

2660 Civic Center Drive
Roseville, Minnesota  55113

(651) 792-7008 www.cityofroseville.com/police

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2660 Civic Center Drive, Roseville, MN 55113

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