Early Thursday in Bloomington, a speeding car that wrecked in the 9400 block of Lyndale Avenue ended with a fellow law officer in handcuffs on the side of the road. Police say the driver, 61-year-old Kenneth Gallion, a part-time officer from the Chatfield Police Department, blew a blood-alcohol concentration of more than three times Minnesota's legal limit. Bloomington Police Chief Booker Hodges said Gallion had been working at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds roughly an hour before the crash and emphasized that no members of the public were hurt.
Dash-cam video released by Bloomington police shows officers pulling a man from a vehicle while he is still wearing a badge and a holstered gun, then taking him into custody. Officers say they responded just after midnight to reports of a speeding vehicle that had crashed in the 9400 block of Lyndale Avenue, according to KSTP.
Video Shows Officer In Uniform As Chief Walks Up
In the video shared by the Bloomington Police Department, officers are seen handcuffing Gallion and helping him out of the vehicle while he remains in uniform. Chief Hodges arrives at the scene and is heard saying, "I don't care who you are, you come to our city and break the law, we're going to lock you up. I'm glad no member of the public was hurt," as shown in the department video posted by the Bloomington Police Department.
Who Was Arrested And Where He Had Been Working
Chief Hodges identified the driver as Gallion, a 61-year-old part-time officer with the Chatfield Police Department, and said he had been working at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds about an hour before the Lyndale Avenue crash. Those details, along with confirmation that Bloomington police released the dash-cam footage and that media have contacted Chatfield officials for comment, are reported by KSTP.
Legal Limit And Unanswered Questions
Under Minnesota law, most drivers are considered legally impaired at a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.08 percent, according to Minnesota Statutes. A test result that is more than three times the limit can trigger criminal charges and typically sets off internal reviews within law enforcement agencies, which may include placing an officer on administrative leave while an investigation is underway. Officials have not yet released information on any formal charges or on Gallion's employment status with the Chatfield Police Department.
Bloomington police made the video public as part of their information on the arrest. This story will be updated if the Chatfield Police Department, Hennepin County prosecutors, or the Bloomington Police release additional details.
