The family of a man shot by St. Paul police officers in 2015 said Thursday that they were outraged when they heard the department planned to sell the vehicle he was killed in.
But police said Thursday that Marcus Golden’s vehicle will not be put up for auction, and they will waive its impound lot fees.
Golden’s family plans to use the sport-utility vehicle as evidence when they file a lawsuit against the St. Paul Police Department, said Monique Cullars-Doty, Golden’s aunt.
“This is absolutely disgraceful,” Cullars-Doty said Thursday. “St. Paul police knows they have a letter (from the family’s attorney) to preserve our evidence, and they tried to get rid of the evidence.”
The police department sent Golden’s family a certified letter in March about the vehicle, but Golden’s mother, Ericka Cullars-Golden, never received it.
She said she called the impound lot various times and has been “going round and round with the police department.”
A supervisor told Cullars-Golden last week that it would cost about $900 to get her son’s SUV out of the impound lot. The lot charges a larger one-day fee and then $15 per day.
A deputy police chief called Cullars-Golden on Thursday to tell her she would not be charged because the police department “recognizes there were some communication issues,” said Steve Linders, a St. Paul police spokesman.
The department took the step because police say they have been trying to reach the family to determine how they wanted to proceed. Golden’s family announced on Facebook they were holding Thursday’s news conference, which “made it clear they want the vehicle back,” Linders said.
Cullars-Doty said it’s a small victory, but she added, “Let’s be clear — the only reason the fees are being waived is because this event was posted. … It takes outside pressure to get change.”
GRAND JURY FOUND LETHAL FORCE JUSTIFIED
A grand jury cleared two St. Paul police officers in the January 2015 shooting of Golden, 24, in the parking lot of the Valley Hi-Rise apartments at 261 E. University Ave., near Regions Hospital.
Police were responding to a 911 call from a man who reported he was receiving death threats from his ex-girlfriend’s former boyfriend.
In the lot, Golden sped in his SUV toward an officer, nearly striking him, according to police.
Police said a loaded handgun was found within Golden’s reach in the SUV, but Golden’s family disputes that and other information in police reports, including that Golden was trying to run over an officer.