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Brandt Williams
Minneapolis

Burnsville cop off force after testifying he sent 'negative' texts about black people

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Burnsville police say the officer who testified in a Minneapolis courtroom this week that he'd sent "negative" text messages about African-Americans is no longer on the force effective Thursday.

Officer Brett Levin testified in Hennepin County Court Tuesday as a prosecution witness in the trial of Allen Scarsella.

Prosecutors say Scarsella was motivated by anti-black bias when he shot and wounded five African-American men in November 2015.

In his testimony, Levin described a phone conversation with Scarsella the night of the shooting in which Scarsella admitted shooting the protesters. Levin, who was a Mankato police officer at the time, told Scarsella to turn himself in and related information to a supervisor after the call.

Levin also testified that over a period of time he and Scarsella exchanged text messages that were "negative" about African-Americans. Levin admitted he replied with "similar comments," although he didn't elaborate other than to say the two engaged in "locker room talk."

Levin also admitted Scarsella had an attitude that he described as "if you're black, you're bad." Levin and Scarsella, 24, grew up together.

In an email asking for information about Levin's status, Burnsville police chief Eric Gieseke said the department has high standards for its officers and values the relationship it has with the suburb's diverse communities.

"As of today, Officer Levin is no longer with our department," Gieseke said.

The prosecution in the Scarsella trial called around 30 witnesses before resting on Thursday. In the afternoon, the defense called Nathan Gustavsson, who also faces charges in connection with the shooting.

Defense attorneys say Scarsella feared for his life before firing his gun. Some prosecution witnesses also described a physical confrontation. Scarsella has pleaded not guilty to the seven felony counts.

Before he took the witness stand, Gustavsson voluntarily gave up his 5th Amendment right against self-incrimination. He did so against the advice of his lawyer who is defending him against multiple charges of 2nd degree riot.

Gustavsson said he and three others, including Scarsella, went to the 4th police precinct where the protests against the police killing of Jamar Clark were taking place.

"I believed that it [protest] was damaging to the community that surrounded it and it was not a legal ... not a calm, collected protest," Gustavsson said.

Court ended just before Gustavsson could describe what happened just before the shooting.

He is expected to continue with his testimony on Friday.