Former deputy pleads guilty in fatal hit-and-run // 
Rochester man says he was drunk; may face 4 years
(Minneapolis Star Tribune)


       Admitting he was driving drunk, a former Olmsted County sheriff'
s deputy pleaded guilty Monday to criminal vehicular homicide and 
another charge related to the hit-and-run death of a man this summer 
near a street party in Byron, Minn.
       Dakota County Attorney James Backstrom said Monday that he 
will recommend a minimum four-year sentence for Eric B. Thompson, 
25, of Rochester, who was off duty at the time of the hit-and-run. 
Four years is the presumptive sentence under Minnesota law, and Thompson 
would be expected to serve at least 32 months of it.
        
    ``This is a serious crime, and we feel it warrants a prison term,
'' said Backstrom, whose office prosecuted Thompson to avoid a conflict 
among Olmsted County law enforcement agencies. ``This case is particularly 
egregious because it was a law enforcement officer who chose not only 
to drink and drive, but also to leave the scene after he struck and 
killed a pedestrian.''
       Thompson is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 25 in Olmsted County 
District Court. He is free on bond.
       He was driving a pickup truck just before midnight July 18 
at speeds of 40 to 55 miles per hour in a 30-mph zone, according to 
accident reconstruction experts. Earlier, authorities said it appeared 
Thompson was traveling at about 60 mph. 
       He struck and killed Ronald Carlson, 34, of Byron, and injured 
Carlson's wife, Terri, 35, and the driver of a car he struck while 
fleeing. The Carlsons were walking home from the street party when 
they were hit from behind.
       In addition to pleading guilty to the homicide charge, Thompson 
pleaded guilty to criminal vehicular operation resulting in bodily 
harm related to drunken driving.
       Authorities said Thompson was seen before the crash at the 
Byron community party, which was attended by 600 to 800 people. Beer 
was sold at the party, and people were allowed to bring liquor to 
mix with soft drinks.
       Thompson was driving east on a frontage road, then pulled into 
a westbound lane to pass vehicles waiting at a stop sign. After hitting 
the couple, prosecutors said, Thompson's pickup rear-ended a car, 
pulled around other cars waiting at a stop sign and went past the 
sign without stopping.
       A driver tried to follow the pickup but ``lost sight of the 
truck after chasing it for about 2 miles'' when Thompson turned out 
his lights and continued driving, prosecutors said.
       Thompson comes from a family of police officers. His brother 
Steve, a Rochester officer on duty the night of the crash, played 
a role in the arrest.
       When a description of the vehicle - a blue extended-cab Chevy 
- was relayed to police, Steve Thompson thought it sounded like his 
brother's. He drove to his brother's house in the early morning of 
July 19, found him asleep on a couch and opened the door for other 
officers to enter.
       ``Upon being awakened, Thompson was distraught, saying, `I'
m sorry,' '' the criminal complaint said.
       Assistant Dakota County Attorney Mary Theisen, who prosecuted 
the case, said authorities found Thompson sleeping ``on the sofa with 
a gun in one hand and a police radio in the other hand.''
       He was arrested at about 3 a.m. July 19 and had a blood-alcohol 
content of 0.15 percent when tested at 3:32 a.m., three  hours and 
40 minutes after the crash. The legal limit in Minnesota is 0.10 percent.
       Thompson resigned in September from the Sheriff's Department.



Copyright 1998 Star Tribune. Republished under license to Infonautics 
Corp. All other rights reserved.Pat Doyle; Staff Writer, Former deputy pleads guilty in fatal hit-and-run // Rochester man says he was drunk; may face 4 years. , Minneapolis Star Tribune, 10-13-1998, pp 01B.


 Community News File; Downtown Los Angeles; Memorial
 Erected for MTA Officer Killed on Duty; Home Edition
 (Los Angeles Times)
 
 Memorial Erected for MTA Officer Killed on Duty
 
 Los Angeles Times   Thursday June 26, 1997
 Home Edition
 Metro, Page 4
 Type of Material: Column; Brief
 
 
 A granite pillar honoring the memory of Officer
 Edward E. Reed Jr.,
 the only Metropolitan Transit Police officer killed
 in the line of duty,
 was unveiled Wednesday at a memorial service at MTA
 headquarters
 downtown.
 
    The three-foot by two-foot pillar bearing a black
 granite plaque honoring Reed was displayed for the first time
 before a crowd that included the officer's parents.
    Reed, 29, was killed Feb. 21, 1993, when his
 vehicle was struck near
 42nd Street and Central Avenue by a drunk driver,
 police said. Alfredo
 Martinez, 21, was convicted of gross vehicular
 manslaughter and sentenced
 to seven years in prison.
 
    "Ed Reed was a fun-loving guy who loved his job,"
 said Senior Transit
 Police Officer Mark Warner. "He was one of the best
 guys I've ever meet
 in my life."