Possible Landen Beard sighting??

[Seismic Sam]

I was just coming home from Morelli's on the East Side of St. Paul, and was going up East 7th Street to turn right on Mounds Boulevard and go over to the I-94 Eastbound on-ramp. Small, older model nondescript red sedan was ahead of me, and ahead of that was another car I couldn't really see. In the lane to the left was a new black Chevy SUV with dark tinted rear windows (Lic 806 EZK or EJK) who appeared to be trying to merge to the right between the red car and the car ahead. There didn't appear to be a lot of space to merge, but the black SUV kept trying as the car ahead and the red car moved from the right lane of E 7th St. Eastbound to the right turn lane. I should clearly note that the red car didn't suddently accelerate to cut off the black SUV, and just appeard to be moving forward at about the same moderate speed. Just at the corner, the black SUV makes it into the gap between the two cars, jams on the brakes, and the rear window lights up with cop blue strobes and red lights. WTF?? Then a medium dark black guy, probably 6'1" and 210 pounds gets out of the SUV, wearing blue jeans and a puffy dark colored down vest with a turtleneck underneath, and the antenna of a walkie-talkie sticking out of his left vest pocket, This person had NO badge on the vest, and NO ID on any sort of a lanyard around his neck. He proceeds to harangue the driver of the red car for about two minutes, and then gets back in his stealth copmobile and drives off, last seen heading South on US 61 from I-94. So, the only aggresive action was taken by the presumable cop in the SUV, and the driver of the red car just appeared to be clueless and going his own way and not paying too much attention to anything but the car ahead of him. I saw nothing even remotely illegal being done by the driver of the red car.

1. Anybody know whether Landen Beard is still located in the Twin Cities?
2. Anybody got a picture of Landen that you can post?
3. Anybody got a physical description of Landen that might jibe with what I saw??

The action of the supposed police officer was so agressive and so sudden that the first thing that came into my mind was the name Landen Beard.

EDIT: The other thing that was strange was that the supposed police officer always had his hands in plain view, and at no time ever hade either hand close to his hip, apart from the walkie-talkie in his left vest pocket, and I can't imagine a cop stuffing a walkie talkie into the same pocket as his gun. He just stood there bitching at this guy essentially between a condition of white and yellow. Very strange...

[hammAR]

Should have done a video/phone capture.................

[Seismic Sam]

Shoulda woulda coulda - I was like 20' directly behind the red car when the koplites came on... I wasn't about to risk a $200 Panasonic ZS-1 camera on the fact that it WASN'T Landen Beard. Plus the $3K 50 GI in my center console...

This whole scene was hinkey from the git-go, and I wasn't going to try and become victim #2 with some rogue kop with an anger management problem. Like I said, what I saw was WAYYYY past the line of any reasonable LE behavior.

[mrokern]

Does he have a new girlfriend in St. Paul?

[Tommy Gun]

Ha, ha! I thought the topic was "Possible bin Laden Beard sighting??"

Seriously.

Never mind.

[Dave Pendleton]

Was he waving a gun around? Did he threaten to **** kill you?

If so, it was probably Landen Beard.

[Seismic Sam]

Like I said, no gun, no sign of a gun, and no behavior on the officer's part even showing the usual precautions taken while conducting a routine traffic stop. And the stop was for something so trivial that it was clear that the officer had a severe anger management problem.

[45Badger]

For those of us lacking the proper historical context, who is Landen Beard?

[mrokern]

Robbinsdale cop who was involved in a road rage incident off-duty. More specifically, he pulled up next to permit holder Martin Treptow and pointed a gun at Treptow (well, at him through his wife) screaming, "I'm going to effing kill you, I don't care about jail!"

Treptow shot him, and spent the next few years in legal hell because the raging idiot he shot wore a badge for a living.

Last I heard, Beard still has a badge.

[DeanC]

Last I heard, Beard still has a badge.

And Treptow has no permit.

[bstrawse]

Last I heard, Beard still has a badge.

And Treptow has no permit.

And a felony conviction :/

[nyffman]

Should I say it? Nah! BTDT.

[VikesFan1]

What a raw deal... We discussed this ordeal during my permit class... Too bad, the way it worked out.

He should try getting the likes of Dateline involved.

[VikesFan1]

Should I say it? Nah! BTDT.

I have a guess... I don't feel like going there today, either.

[tman]

Like I said, no gun, no sign of a gun, and no behavior on the officer's part even showing the usual precautions taken while conducting a routine traffic stop.

Street smarts are perishable. Investigators and desk-riders are basically "condition white" people. It's painful to watch (and experience). Going back to patrol after years of doing something else was a process. I had to re-learn stuff I used to know.