Minneapolis Park Police Officer Dies after Being Hit by Squad Car During Foot Chase

[gopherpuckfan]

http://wcco.com/local/mark.bedard.mi....2.564504.html

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) ―
A Minneapolis Park Police Officer critically injured last week when he was hit by a squad car during a chase died Friday.
Mark Bedard, 34, was a 12-year veteran of the park police.
On Nov. 1, Bedard and several other park officers and Minneapolis Police Officers responded to a report of shots fired in north Minneapolis. Bedard was chasing a suspect on foot into an alley when he was struck by a Minneapolis Police squad car which was also pursuing the suspect.
Witnesses said the driver of the squad car was going 40 mph when she struck Bedard. As part of standard procedure, the driver of the squad car has been put on administrative leave.
Bedard had been in critical condition at North Memorial Medical Center since the crash.

Bedard's family will hold a press conference at 2 p.m. Check back on WCCO.COM to watch it live.

[Jenna]

Rest in peace.

[jmur5074]

You know what's ridiculous??

WCCO's top stories (when I looked) were about MNDOT firing their manager, and a dead girl's BAC of .46 on her 21st birthday.

I had to scroll down for this story..

[gopherpuckfan]

Yeah, it pisses me off when important stories are buried.

[adroitcuffs]

RIP... many prayers to his family and friends.

Prayers also to the officer who hit him; I'm certain she has a long emotional road ahead.

[PapaBear]

Officer Mark Bedard RIP. Thank you for your dedication and service to your community. May God give great comfort to your family and friends during this trying period.

[TheeBadOne]

Services set for Mpls. officer who died after being struck by car

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) Funeral services are scheduled for this week for a police officer who died from injuries he suffered when he was struck by another officer's squad car during a chase.

Visitation for Mark Bedard, 34, is scheduled to be held from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday at Washburn-McReavy Funeral Home in Edina. Refreshments will be served beginning at 6 p.m. at the Minneapolis park board headquarters. Bedard was a 12-year veteran of the park police force.

The funeral is slated for 11 a.m. Wednesday at the Basilica of St. Mary. The funeral procession will leave the Basilica and pass Lake of the Isles and Lake Calhoun to Lakewood Cemetery.

Bedard was running after a suspect Nov. 1 when he was struck in an alley by a squad car that was also pursuing the suspects, authorities said. The officers were responding to a report of shots fired in north Minneapolis.

Information from: Star Tribune, http://www.startribune.com

[DEPUTY30]

RIP Brother

[Star Man]

RIP

[10-42Adam]

RIP

[Willowdared]

Thoughts and prayers en-route.

I don't know what their communication system is like, but we are fortunate enough to use a system that let's us patch frequencies in mutual aid situations. Good communication between agencies can reduce the risk of officer injuries.

[gopherpuckfan]

We have statewide emergency channels and there are also inter-departmental tac channels. I'm sure Park Police and the city Police were using the same channel during this. The problem was running between garages and into an alley. You can't tell where sirens are coming from and drivers have no time to stop if they see someone run out in front of their car.

Here's the final out-of-service call from the funeral, plus another link to the coverage from one of the local stations.

http://kstp.com/article/stories/s257287.shtml?v=1

http://kstp.com/article/stories/S255713.shtml?cat=1

[gopherpuckfan]

From one of the Channel 5 reporters covering the funeral.

Nov. 14: Funeral for a Fallen Father
By: Mark Albert

Today, mourners said a very public goodbye to Minneapolis Park Police officer Mark Bedard, 34. Bedard was chasing a shooting suspect on foot Nov. 1 in North Minneapolis when a Minneapolis police patrol car hit him, sending him into the windshield, and inflicting massive internal injuries. Despite, what appeared to be, a slightly improving condition early last week, Bedard died with his family by his side Friday, Nov. 9.

I went to the funeral this morning at the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis and I'm doing a story on it for our 10pm news tonight.

A few things struck me as I sat in a pew watching the two-hour funeral:

-Amid the somberness and the sadness, came brief moments of levity and even innocence. As Bedard's casket entered the Basilica, the bagpipers began playing, their high-pitched sound filling the cavernous sanctuary. The casket sat just past the nave, with Bedard's widow, Andrea, holding their two-and-a-half year old son, Nick. When the bagpipes fell silent, Nick raised his arms and burst out, "yeah!," like one would at a celebration or concert. He then pointed to the ceiling and told his mom, "pretty." Andrea Bedard replied, "yes, pretty." It was a moment of innocence that went all but unnoticed amid the regal ceremony and majesty of a highly choreographed police officer's funeral.

-Hundreds of police officers, perhaps nearing a thousand, filled half the pews in the massive Basilica and nearly all of the temporary folding chairs put in place to handle the crowd. Most of the officers were from the Minneapolis police department, the Minneapolis Park police, and the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office. But there were many officers representing departments from across the Twin Cities and beyond. I noticed one officer, standing by himself as the casket was carried up the Basilica's front steps. He wore a dress uniform, with the patch of the Barrington, Illinois Fire Department on his arm.

-Many elected and appointed officials attended, including Gov. Tim Pawlenty, Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak, Minneapolis Council members Don Samuels and Gary Schiff, Hennepin County Sheriff Rich Stanek, various Minneapolis police administrators, and others. They were strikingly anonymous, attending a public event where they were not called upon to speak; just to witness the funeral of a brave officer, and fallen father. As Bedard's casket was removed from the Basilica and carried down the front steps, those leaders stood silent shoulder to shoulder next to a virtual army of officers with black bands covering their badges, as the bells tolled.

And Andrea Bedard still held her young son, bundled against the chill of a cloudy, somber November afternoon, on the way to bury her husband in an orchestrated goodbye that was anything but private.

We thank them for letting us share with our viewers their grief, their mourning, their memories and their stories of Mark in such a time of sorrow and loss. Our thoughts are with the Bedard family.

[Copper51]

RIP

[hush29]

RIP brother

[Ducky]

RIP.

[BEK]

The man police were chasing at the time Officer Mark Bedard was hit last month has been charged Wednesday. 18-year-old Antonio Smith was charged with two felonies: Drive by shooting and fleeing police.
Prosecutors said Smith was in the car that fired the first shots, initiating the police chase.
Hennepin County is considering adding more charges, including murder.






RIP

[armsmaster270]

Officer Mark Bedard RIP. Thank you for your dedication and service to your community. May God give great comfort to your family and friends during this trying period.

I couldn't say it better