A Foley man is facing seven charges following an incident where he allegedly fled from police and assaulted an officer.
Friel
Trevor Lee Friel, 28, was charged June 14 before Judge James Dehn in Isanti County District Court in Cambridge with felonies traffic DWI, operate motor vehicle under influence of alcohol and fleeing a peace officer in a motor vehicle; gross misdemeanors fourth-degree assault against a police officer, obstructing the legal process and driving with a canceled license; and misdemeanors obstructing the legal process and fleeing a peace officer by means other than a motor vehicle.
His bail was set at $100,000 without conditions or $50,000 with conditions and his next court appearance for July 7.
The June 11 incident involved law enforcement attempting to pull Friel over for speeding at 84 mph when he crashed his vehicle into a pole, fled from police and got into a physical altercation with an Isanti County deputy. During the incident, Friel claimed to be an EMT, friends with an Isanti County deputy and carried a fireman’s pager to help plead his case.
“This case is an example that even in Isanti County we have incidents where a suspect will lead our deputies on a chase, crash their vehicle and attempt to fight with law enforcement,” said Isanti County Sheriff Chris Caulk. “This is a true example of how dangerous our jobs can be at times. There is an expectation that we go after these individuals who are breaking the law because we as a community want these people off the roads, and as law enforcement we want them off the roads.”
Caulk said this incident is a reminder of the quick decisions law enforcement officers need to make.
“In this case, Deputy Noah Heiller didn’t have a lot of time to think about things; this all happened in a manner of minutes,” Caulk said. “Quick decisions had to be made. At one point, the suspect was standing over the deputy and he was able to kick out his leg and get the suspect off of him and eventually gained control of him and arrested him.”
Caulk said another unfortunate aspect about the case was Friel was trying to get a “hand up” by pretending he was someone he was not.
“Another sad thing about this is the suspect was trying to convince Deputy Heiller that he was an EMT, even to the extent he carried a fireman’s pager on him, and then also claimed to be friends with an Isanti County deputy,” Caulk said. “When our dispatch called up to Aitkin County to confirm there was an outstanding warrant out for the suspect’s arrest and we had him in custody, the first thing they said to us was, ‘we need to know your deputy is OK.’ This comment tells us the suspect has a history of aggressive behavior with law enforcement. It just reminds us that we don’t always know who we are dealing with.”
Caulk said charges need to be filed when a suspect assaults an officer.
“I’ve been a recipient of being assaulted by a suspect, and these suspects need to be held accountable for their actions,” Caulk said.
According to court records, Friel was convicted of gross misdemeanor refusing to submit to a chemical test on Aug. 8, 2013, in Isanti County and was convicted of misdemeanor operating a motor vehicle with an alcohol concentration of 0.08 or greater as measured within two hours of driving on Feb. 13, 2012, in Kanabec County. Friel was also subject to a prior implied consent license revocation following an incident in Pine County on April 8, 2012. Friel’s driver’s license had been canceled as inimical to public safety prior to June 11, 2016.
According to the criminal complaint:
On June 11, at 12:44 a.m., Isanti County Deputy Noah Heiller was patrolling on 389th Avenue Northeast near Polk Street in Stanchfield Township when he observed a vehicle traveling at a high rate of speed and activated his radar, which gave a reading of 84 mph in a posted 55 mph zone.
Heiller pulled over to the side of the road and activated his emergency lights as the vehicle passed him. The vehicle did not brake or slow down. Heiller got closer behind the vehicle and activated his siren. The vehicle tried to turn north onto Polk Street Northeast, but was unable to make the corner and crashed into a telephone pole.
Heiller ran over to the vehicle and observed Friel standing on the overturned vehicle’s window smashing the windshield in an attempt to free himself. Friel pushed through the glass and Heiller observed he had blood shot eyes. Heiller asked if the driver was OK and he did not reply, but Heiller could smell the odor of alcohol coming from him.
Friel put his hands on the roof of the truck and allowed Heiller to do a pat search. When Heiller asked Friel to come closer to his squad car, to get a better look at him, Friel took off in a sprint away from the crash scene. Heiller chased the driver and tackled him. Heiller attempted to put handcuffs on him, but he continued to actively resist. Friel indicated he could not be arrested because is an EMT and friends with a deputy.
Friel eventually wiggled free and again ran away into a field. Heiller chased him, caught up to him and tackled him, and Friel continued to actively resist. Other deputies arrived, and Heiller was ultimately able to handcuff Friel. As Heiller and Isanti County Deputy Jonathan Vander Vegt were walking with Friel to a squad vehicle, Friel attempted to strike VanderVegt with his head and refused to get into the squad vehicle. In the course of struggling with law enforcement, the driver also kicked Isanti Police officer Eric Baumgart.
Once Friel was secured in the back of a squad vehicle, he attempted to kick out the windows of that vehicle. Friel also made multiple threats against the officers and their families.
Friel was transported to the Cambridge Medical Center. After a warrant was obtained, a blood sample was taken at approximately 3:11 a.m.