On or about 2:20 a.m. on Wednesday March 15, 2016, St. Paul police officers
responded to a report of a domestic situation involving physical violence in
the 700 block of East Sixth Street. SPPD officers encountered Cordale Quinn
Handy holding a handgun. Mr. Handy had just shot up an apartment building
sending bullets into several apartments. Mr. Handy refused to follow SPPD
officerâs directives and twice pointed a handgun at our police officers
according to the BCA. Following their training and for self-protection the
officers engaged Mr. Handy and they were forced by Mr. Handyâs actions
(pointing a gun at then twice) and they shot Mr. Handy and he passed away.
SPPD officers located a handgun next to Handy and secured it.
A neighbor in an apartment just below the coupleâs, Zack Lofquist, woke up
about 6:30 a.m. to find a bullet hole in his ceiling, about 2 feet from his
bed. Mr. Lofquist is an innocent victim who was sleeping in his bed when Mr.
Handy shot into Mr. Lofquistâs apartment! He is lucky to be alive!
Mr. Handy was not eligible to possess a gun in Minnesota because he is a
convicted felon (Illinois in 2005). In fact Mr. Handy on Oct. 16, 2016 police
found Mr. Handy downtown St. Paul with a gun in his pants. The .40-caliber
handgun had an extended 22-round magazine with 13 live rounds. To this charge,
Mr. Handy pleaded not guilty. Mr. Handy also had a DWI charge he was facing.
Mr. Handy has had a very troubled past in Lake County, Illinois. Mr. Handy
made Lake County's "10 Most Wanted" criminal 2008.
According to the Pioneer Press, today a group of about 60 from Black Lives
Matter, including Mr. Hardyâs mother, Kimberly Handy-Jones held a protest in
support of Mr. Handy. The one-hour vigil included prayers, chants and signs
saying, âSPPD No. 1 in homicides!â and âShame.â âHow many lives will it take?
How many young African-American men will have to die?â âMy son should be here
talking to me. Those cops get to go home and talk to their sons. They have
theirs. But they took mine.â said Handy-Jones through a bullhorn.
I can understand a motherâs grief for the loss of her son, but I have to add
here, what about the other motherâs grief, the mothers of the police officers
involved had Mr. Handy shot and killed any of our SPPD officers, at the hands
of her violent son?
What is so shocking is our mayor, Chris Coleman who has been so quiet. There
has not been one word of support for our SPPD officers in this very difficult
situation from mayor Coleman. WHY?
Mayor Colemanâs record of total disregard for the laws of our city has directly
resulted in the injury of 21 law enforcement officers on I-94 last summer.
Mayor Coleman has embolden lawless bullies during the closure of Summit Avenue
due to these illegal protests and by telling our officers to stand down for his
own political self-promotion. Mayor Coleman has failed in his job to represent
ALL of St. Paul and in doing so he has put our SPPD police officers and
citizens at great risk due to his reckless political self-promotion!
I fully support the men and women of our police department in St. Paul! How
badly Mayor Coleman and other senior members of the Coleman administration have
treated our SPPD officers is shameful! This âmicro managingâ of our police
department needs to stop and we need to let our police chief and officers do
their job to keep St. Paul safe! Our police officers should NEVER be told to
stand down and allow bullies to terrorize and flaunt our laws, block traffic
all for the sake of self-promotion for oneâs political career. This only puts
our officers and civilians at great risk. I fully support Free Speech and if I
want to protest something in St. Paul or hold a rally, there is a process to
follow (permits). Mayor Coleman wants to be governor of our great state, but
he has failed to enforce the laws and ordinances of our city, what is Coleman
going to do, as governor ignore the Minnesota Constitution and state statues?
âI stand with the men and women of our police department 100%!â
If Mayor Coleman isnât going to support our police officers then we need to let
him know! I encourage you to attend the State of the City address on,
Wednesday, March 29, 2017, 12:00 p.m., Pipefitters Local 455 Training Center,
1301 LâOrient Street, Saint Paul. I know this is during the workday when we
all are working, but this is important to support our police officers!
Sincerely,
John Krenik