Reinvestigation Report – Justin Teigen – The Reinvestigation Workgroup

Case Overview

Justin Teigen was a 24-year-old son, brother and father to a three-year-old son named after him. Justin’s story does not start the night of his death on August 19, 2009. It starts with a young black man and his interactions with the police. In Justin’s case, his death occurred within less than a month of the shutdown of the infamous Metro Gang Task Force, a unit known for both improper use of force, as well as corruption. We will go into the events leading up to Justin’s death and the many strange circumstances surrounding Justin’s death. It is clear that some officers of the Saint Paul Police Department were out to get Justin just prior to his death.

The SPPD and Bureau of Criminal Apprehension’s version of Justin’s death on that night is simple. Justin was involved in a high-speed car chase; he crashed his car and ran away from his friends and the police. Then injured from the crash, he climbed into a garbage container yard away and successfully hid from the police and K-9 unit searching the streets. A couple hours later the garbage truck picked him up, crushed him to death and delivered his dead body to the recycling facility headquarters in Inver Grove Heights. The workers at this location found Justin when they dug into the garbage pile and pulled Justin out hanging from the jaws of the Bobcat. The Inver Grove Heights police were called and then the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. After an investigation, it was learned Justin had an incident with the SPPD the night before. The Dakota County Medical Examiner Lindsey Thomas was called in to investigate as well. SPPD wrote the narrative. The Medical Examiner said the death was consistent with the story. No other report was issued. That was that.

There were no charges or further investigations about Justin’s death until 2019 after Toshira Garraway Allan, Justin’s fiancée, spoke out publicly about his death. We will go further into the players involved in the investigations for the truth of Justin’s life and his death on that stormy night in August 2009.

Before we begin, it must be said what isn’t in the record. Despite Ms. Garroway’s repeated requests for information, we have no report from the BCA, nor recordings of the officer’s statements, nor decision from the county attorney not to charge. We have not received any squad, in-car camera, or surveillance videos from Inver Grove Heights, the Hennepin County Attorney, SPPD, or the BCA. Other sources have obtained the video, however, and so we use those videos for our analysis. This is what we can say based on the record, and a call for the rest of the story.

The events that unfolded after the officers arrived at the scene will be described thoroughly in this report. Our investigation shows that Justin Teigen died and the circumstances around his death and the evidence leaves more questions than answers. Justin ran off into the night down Pascal and surveillance video shows him near a dumpster.

Need a section outlining issues: autopsy issues (beginning with bias introduced by police narrative and following up with alternate cause of death), video tape gap, inconsistencies in the weather timeline, and of course failure of the police K-9 to locate Justin.

Award winning K-9 Unit

The SPPD has a nationally recognized and award-winning K-9 unit. The St. Paul Police Canine (K-9) unit is the third oldest police canine unit in the United States. The K-9 team tracking Justin was Officer Davis and his canine partner Auggie, who were featured on a television show about the SPPD canine unit which ran on the Animal Planet Network. Officer Davis has been a police officer in St. Paul since May 1984. He has been in the K-9 unit since March 1989 and recently completed basic K-9 school with his second canine partner, Auggie. Auggie was a 2.5-year-old male German shepherd at the time of Justin’s death. Davis and Auggie were a well-respected team on a very well-respected unit.

One of the issues with the death of Justin Teigen is how the top K-9 officers from one of the nation’s top K-9 units could fail to locate a suspect in an open dumpster at the end of a trail only two blocks long, despite officers on the scene doing everything to enable the track.

According to the police narrative and the Walmart surveillance Justin Teagan was hiding in the dumpster along Pascal. Officer Davis and his canine partner Auggie conducted a track along Pascal Street and walked right by the dumpster Justin was seen beside.

The two dumpsters along Pascal Street are facing east towards the Walmart positioned on a small sidewalk right up against the Midway building, so the lid is behind the dumpster and there is concern that Justin could close the lid. So, Officer Davis and Auggie could have had a very clear view inside of this dumpster.

This photo is from Google Maps in October 2009. This photo is of the two dumpsters and Justin was seen by the one on the right.

Most police dogs are cross-trained, so they can track people in addition to drugs. They learn to scent on the ground, for the scent trail that a person leaves, and in the air for the scent cone that flows downwind from a person when he or she is nearby.1 The canine unit is a highly specialized unit working with specially trained police canines, which are trained to locate the source of human scent as well as narcotics and explosive odors. When necessary, police canines are used to gain suspect compliance using less than lethal force.2 The following information is from a 2019 audit report on SPPD describes K-9 tracking ability:

1 k-9s4cops.org

2 Bill Finney & Associates, LLC report on SPPD canine audit 2012-2019, retrieved from https://content.govdelivery.com/attachments/STPAUL/2019/01/04/file_attachments/1132513/Final%20Report%20on%20SPPD%20Canine%20Unit%20Audit.pdf 

First, let’s dispel a few misconceptions when it deals with tracking.

…

If it’s raining, it won’t do any good to call for a K-9 because all the scent has washed away. This is absolutely FALSE.

In most circumstances having a little rain actually increases the ability for the dog to follow the track. When there is high moisture content in the air, it traps and holds scents close to the ground.

The dog cannot track concrete, asphalt, etc.… Again, this is FALSE.

While it does make it a little harder for the dog, a well-trained K-9 will be able to track on any surface. How much traffic has been on the road, how windy it is, and the length of time since the person fled will be of greater importance on hard surface tracks, but it is very much possible.

How to Assist the K-9 Unit on A Track

If you are the original officer on the scene, get as much information as you can in reference to the suspect’s description, why they are wanted, and EXACTLY where they were last seen. Once the K=9 handler arrives on the scene, they need a place to start. By showing the handler the last point of observation on the suspect it will reduce the amount of time in trying to find the “track”.

If the suspect has run from you and you believe that you can catch them on your own, then by all means chase after them. But, if during your chase it becomes evident that you will not be able to catch them, stop. Take note of the exact location of where you last observed the suspect and call for the K- 9 unit to come to you. The track should be started from that point.

Do NOT have any responding backup units out walking around trying to locate the suspect prior to the dog’s arrival. This just adds more “tracks” to the area and makes it much harder for the dog to locate your suspect.

DO get responding backup units to set up a perimeter with their cruisers.

What this quote regarding the SPPD tracking unit shows is that a K-9 team could clearly track Justin under the conditions that existed on August 19, 2009. It seems that finding Justin was the more likely outcome, an outcome that some believe did occur.

When Justin was pulled out from the pile of recycling, he was only wearing one black sock. The other sock was found and only one of his shoes was close by and the laces still tightly tied.

On the surveillance video from Walmart when Justin runs away, he is running extremely fast. He does not stagger as if injured or trip as if his shoes were not tightly tied. So one can only assume Justin’s shoes and socks were on his feet when he made it to the dumpster. While we can assume that the force of garbage and being in the truck may have pulled the shoes off his feet, we do also have to ask what the puncture marks are on his legs as you will see below in the autopsy information. There is also a strange V mark on his leg that looks like the corner of the dumpster. These together on Justin’s legs open up more questions than provide simple answers to what actually happened to Justin and his shoes all those years ago.

Incident Chronology

Officer Statements and Reports

There were 16 Saint Paul Police Officers who responded to the car crash and searched for Justin. These officers arrived quickly at the scene and provided a quick perimeter on the area.

The tables below include excerpts from the officer statements on the left and in the right column, we provide an analysis of what was said compared to other evidence including other officer or witness statements. Additionally, in the analysis we pull out facts that are important for the totality of the circumstances. The below is a list of the officers on scene.

Squad	Officers	Details
197	Kurt Roettjer	Initiated the initial traffic stop in the parking lot of 1466 University Avenue
116	Stokes and McGinn	Went to Regions hospital to speak with the passengers in the car. (pg. 5, SPPD 1)
140	Lacska & Christensen	Took photos and collected evidence (pg. 5, SPPD )
146	Vang & Lor	Completed the state accident report and towed the vehicle. (pg. 5, SPPD 1)
112	Etienne	Sat on a perimeter at University and Albert while Davis searched the area with the K9. (pg. 9, SPPD 1)
625	Davis (K9)	K9 officer arrived with K9 and “began a track south bound on Pascal” (pg. 5, SPPD 1)

210	Kolodge & Grundhauser	Were at Regions for an unrelated incident when they saw Stokes & McGinn at the hospital waiting for the two males to arrive.
115	Bisson	Assisted Roettjer on scene for a “personal injury accident.” Assisted Davis with the K9 track. Checked trash and dumpsters along the east and west sides of Pascal and in the alley behind 1466 University. Did not find anything.
195	Omari	Took a perimeter position on St Anthony Ave between Pascal and Snelling.
195	Whitney	Assisted Roettjer. Took a perimeter position on Saint Anthony Ave between Pascal and Snelling Avenue. Assisted Davis in tracking for the suspect. K9 Officer Davis searched with negative results; Whitney continued to check the area. They checked all of the buses on the south side of the shopping mall. Checked the neighborhood to the south, east, and west.
	Joshua Lego	Sergeant. Arrived on scene and assisted medics (p. 5, SPPD 1)
189	Kent Cleveland	Sergeant. At 0254, responded to the scene to assist.

Officer Kurt Roettjer

Basic Info
Officer Kurt Roettjer, at the time of Justin’s death, was on patrol in front of the Perkins on University Avenue. Officer Roettjer joined the St. Paul Police Department in December 2007³. He was also a security police officer for the MN Air National Guard and was a disabled veteran of Desert Storm. He worked in law enforcement until 2012 when he was injured in the line of duty and was diagnosed with PTSD.⁴
Excerpt from Interview	Questions	Analysis
The following is from SPPD Officer Kurt Roettjer’s report.	The following is the information from the reinvestigation team’s research.	The following is the factual evidence, photos, or the source of the information.
Officer Roettjer was in the Rainbow Foods parking lot around 2:45am across from the Perkins parking lot.		Rainbow Foods’ address was 1566 University St. Paul. Perkins’ address was 1544 University Avenue, St. Paul, MN. Both businesses were torn down within the past 10 years.

³https://www.startribune.com/st-paul-police-force-to-grow-by-42-on-thursday/12635131/ 

⁴https://www.compassionatefriends.org/blog/the-neverending-battle-with-grief/

SGT Lego arrived on scene and began a track southbound on Pascal.
K-9 Officer Davis and Auggie arrived on scene and began a track southbound on Pascal.	Davis and Auggie also were assisted by Officer Whitney and Officer Bisson.
Squad 116 Officer Stokes and McGinn went to Regions Hospital to speak with the passengers in the car. 116 told me both passengers would not speak to them and refused to complete medical release forms.
Squad 140 Lacska /Christensen took photos and collected evidence.
Squad 146 Vang/ Lor completed the state accident report and towed the vehicle.

Officer Joshua Lego

Basic Info

Officer Joshua Lego, at the time of Justin’s death, was a sergeant on patrol in the Western district of St. Paul. Joshua Lego joined the SPPD in October 1996. He has had numerous positions in SPPD, most notably as Commander of the Records, Property, and Evidence Units, where families of stolen lives have had difficulties requesting information about their loved ones’ deaths. He was a staff member of the Force Science Institute from 2005 to 2018, which is a controversial organization that uses pseudoscientific methods to validate warrior-style police tactics. According to independent media outlet, Unicorn riot, “Lego has been the crowd control captain during recent protests in Saint Paul. Lego has been on the front lines of many protests in the last five years, and was seen throwing flashbangs at journalists during the riot on I-94 after Philando Castile’s murder by police in 2016.”

Excerpt from Interview	Analysis
On August 19, 2009, at approximately 0245 hours I, Sgt. Joshua Lego, was on patrol in the area of Westbound Interstate 94 at Lexington. I was in a marked squad car and exiting onto Lexington. At that time I heard a radio transmission indicating an officer was in need of assistance. I listened as Officer Roettjer described the incident at hand and the direction of travel of a suspect fleeing on foot; Southbound on Pascal from the location of a vehicle crash.
I was only a few blocks from Pascal Street, South of Roettjer’s location. I activated my lights and siren and responded directly to the intersection of Pascal and St. Anthony. I reasoned that I had arrived in time to deter any person fleeing on foot to cross the intersection at St. Anthony. I looked in a northerly direction and observed no one on foot. I called on the air and directed dispatch to start a K9 officer to Officer Roettjer’s location. I observed the context of the area included an alleyway and parking lot leading Westbound from the Southwest corner of the strip mall. I also observed a large parking lot leading eastbound from the Southeast corner of the Walmart.	The K9 officer was officer Davis and his K9, Auggie.
I had a clear view of the alleyway to the West and did not see anyone running. However, my view of the parking lot to the rear of the Walmart was obstructed by the Cub Foods. Once the perimeter was well established I directed officers in the area to check the Cub Foods to determine if anyone had run into the building. Staff reported no one had entered the building that fit the description of the person fleeing on foot. I was replaced at the location of Pascal and St. Anthony and proceeded to the scene of the crash.	Officer Lego is first seen at 3:25:37 in the Smoke shop video.
I observed Officer’s Davis (K9) and Bisson as they prepared to conduct a track. I informed Officer Davis that no one had checked the areas immediately to the East or West of Pascal Street; mentioning specifically the tractor trailer parking lot attached to Walmart and the trash cut our area attached to the strip mall.
Officer Roettjer was triaging the level of injury sustained by two persons in the motor vehicle that crashed. He reported to me that his contact with the vehicle began as a result of illegal driving behavior. While he was speaking to the driver Officer Roettjer reported the driver was making furtive movements under the front seat of the vehicle. The driver continued to keep his hands from view despite Officer Roettjer’s verbal directions through the then open window. Officer Roettjer reported that he had in fact pointed his firearm at the driver because he feared for his safety. It was then the driver suddenly accelerated his vehicle and fled Officer Roettjer’s presence. While Officer Roettjer was describing the incident, I was providing cover until medics came to the scene.	We believe the distance that Justin’s car traveled was about 200 feet. That is also very close to the distance from Perkins’s parking lot to where Justin’s car ended up crashing.

Once medics arrived, I briefly looked inside the car. I observed a firearm located on the floor of the car. underneath the steering wheel. I observed a clear bag of what in my training and experience appeared to be crack cocaine. This bag was located in the center console. I observed a few (I did not count them) clear plastic bags of what appeared to be marijuana also in the center console. I also observed some U.S. Currency of an unknown denomination on the front seat. I did not recover any of these items I observed; however I did bring them to Officer Roettjer’s attention.

Medics are seen in the smoke shop video at 3:05:33

At that time it began to rain. I modified the scene by closing the driver door in order to protect the firearm and inside of the vehicle for evidentially purposes. I called for camera car assistance to respond to the scene. From that point on I monitored the efforts of several police officers to find the driver of the vehicle. The search for the driver lasted for a significant period of time with no success.

3:53 am is when we found the rain started.

Officer Kent Cleveland

Basic Info

Officer Kent Cleveland …

Excerpt from Interview	Analysis
On 08-19-09 at 0254 hrs. I, Sgt. Kent Cleveland (Squad 189), responded to assist Squad 197 (K. Roettjer) after he reported that a male driver had just fled from a vehicle following an accident at 1466 University Ave W.
I monitored Officer Roettjer air that the driver of a vehicle: 2007 Dodge Charger, 4-door, black, MN Lie. #846- CXV; had just fled from the vehicle after it crashed in front of 1466 University AV. Officer Roettjer described the suspect as: 8/M with braided hair wearing a black T-shirt and black shorts. He advised that the suspect had run E/8 through the parking lot and then S/8 on Pascal ST N, along the East side of the Midway Shopping Mall, towards St Anthony AV. He also reported that there were (2) male passengers in the vehicle who were still present that both of them had been injured in the accident. I responded to the area to assist in setting up a perimeter along with other assisting squads. Sgt. J. Lego (Squad 104) responded to the crash location to supervise it and assist Officer Roettjer. SPFD Medics also responded to treat the injured passengers.
A short time later Officer Roettjer radioed that the suspect driver had been reaching under the seat of the Charger just prior to the accident. He reported that he had searched the area around the driver’s seat and he had recovered a handgun and suspected Crack Cocaine.
K9 Squad 625 (M. Davis) along with his canine partner responded to the scene to assist in attempting to locate the suspect. Officer Roettjer then radioed that the passengers in the car had identified the driver by the first name “Justin”. A routine registration check on the vehicle showed that it registered to: Teigen, Sharon Marie DOB/02-15-42 and Teigen, Justin Anthony DOB/04-13-85 (1517 Portland AV, #4, St Paul, MN 55104). Officer J. Whitney (Squad 195) checked the MRAP web site and found a recent booking photo of Justin Teigen showing him having braided hair. Officer Roettjer then radioed that upon reviewing the DVS and MRAP web site photos of Teigen he positively identified him as the suspect driver who fled

Squad 625 then arrived on scene and K9 Officer Davis, and he attempted to track the suspect with the assistance of Squad 115 (R. Bisson). The K9 immediately began to track S/8 along Pascal ST, however as soon as the track had begun it started to rain extremely heavily. The K9 searched the entire area behind the Midway Mall with negative results so the perimeter was then disbanded. Squads continued to check the area for Teigen, but they were unable to locate him. Squad 147 (X. Vang) also responded to Teigen’s address to see if he had made it home, however he was not there. Officer Vang spoke to Teigen’s grandmother, and she said that he had not returned home.	The rain started at 3:53.
I then responded to the crash location and spoke with Officer Roettjer. He told me that he had been parked in the Midway Mall parking lot monitoring traffic in the Perkins Restaurant following bar closing . He said that he had observed Teigen and his two passengers looking in the trunk of his car prior to leaving the restaurant lot. He said that when then pulled out of the lot Teigen accelerated rapidly in a reckless manner. He said that he made a traffic stop on the car to advise Teigen to slow down. Immediately after the car stopped, he said that Teigen bent down and reached under the driver’s seat. He feared that Teigen maybe either reaching for or attempting to conceal a weapon or other contraband, so he ordered him to show his hands. He said that Teigen did not comply and kept his hands down below the driver’s door. He said that he drew his service weapon and ordered Teigen at gunpoint to show his hands. Teigen still did not comply. He said that he approached the driver’s door while continuing to issue commands to Teigen, with no compliance. As he reached the door Teigen rolled up his window and sped away. Officer Roettjer said that he ran back to his squad and as he reached the door, he heard the Charger crash into the building. As he pulled up, he saw Teigen running from the vehicle, however he did not pursue him because he needed to contain the other occupants of the car until he could determine if they were involved in any criminal activity and/or if they posed a physical threat to him.	No mention of the flashlight. Why would Officer Roettjer walk towards a car when the person is digging under his seat and not showing his hands?
Officer Roettjer told me that he did not use any other force other than his verbal commands and pointing his handgun at the suspect. The passengers were both transported to Regions Hospital by medics for treatment of their injuries. Teigen was not located and a pick up and hold was issued for him.

Officer Michael Davis

Basic Info
Officer Michael Davis
Excerpt from Interview	Analysis
SQD 625 assisted sods in searching for a party who fled from a traffic stop and crashing his car west of pascal and south of university. Myself and squad 115 (R. Bisson) along with my K9 Auggie attempted a track of the suspect last seen running.
South along Pascal from the crash site, while tracking to 2 large recycling dumpsters approximately 1/2 block south of the crash site, on the west side of the street, Auggie showed some interest in the area, although not a full alert. We checked the areas around the dumpsters and looked into the dumpsters but could see no one. We continued on with our search. after searching for approximately 1-1 1/2 hours and after a downpour we came back to the dumpsters to recheck them.	Please look at our timeline.
I looked into the dumpster on the left side and saw it was not full and felt that no one could be hiding in it. looking into the dumpster on the right I could see that it was mostly full of cardboard. I climbed into the dumpster to try and get a better look, but the cardboard was too deep, at least 4 feet high of cardboard. I tried looking under some, but it was too deep. I didn’t believe anyone could be hiding under it. I ended my search there.	Please look at our timeline.

Surveillance Footage

CUAPB’s reinvestigation workgroup, in tandem with Toshira Garroway, requested all information from the Hennepin County Medical Examiner. However, we have not received the actual surveillance videos from them.

At the time of Justin’s death, the Dakota County Medical Examiner, Dr. Lindsey Thomas, had possession of the surveillance videos. We know this because on 9/23/09, Lindsey Thomas showed Tania, her fiancé Chris, Toshira, Justin’s best friend, and the best friend’s girlfriend the autopsy photos and the surveillance videos. At the time of this viewing, the family believed that there was footage missing from the videos and continues to assert that. Dr. Lindsey Thomas even made a note of this saying, “I showed them all the photos and videos. They continue to have alternate explanations for what happened to Justin.” The Dakota County Medical Examiner’s Office has since been absorbed by the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office, and Toshira was told that all of Justin’s case files were sent there.

In April of 2022, Toshira requested all evidence in Justin’s case. She received nearly everything, except for the surveillance videos.

Toshira was able to obtain the videos from another source. The videos were compiled into one. This compilation was used by CUAPB investigators for our investigation and to create the timelines below.

Link to the compilation of the three surveillance videos.

Video showing the car crash

02:55:36:03	Smoke Shop Video begins
02:56:02:11	Car crashes into mall cement pillar
02:56:12:18	Shadow appears in the bottom right of the screen- JT running away
02:56:15:25	Squad light appear from the West
03:00:43:25	Woman in white shirt appears on screen east of car accident- on mall sidewalk
03:01:06:21	Woman in white shirt walks west bound on mall sidewalk towards squad lights- goes out of camera view
03:01:45:06	Woman in white shirt appears back on screen. She is standing in what looks to be a parallel of a crashed car.

03:02:09:03	Woman in white shirt appears to be watching over the car taking steps back and forth on sidewalk
03:02:25:25	Woman in white shirt appears to walk away from crash- walking east bound towards Pascal
03:02:31:29	Shadow seen lingering on bottom east of the screen- Possibly White shirt woman
03:03:21:29	Flashlight appears on ground coming from the east
03:03:23:20	Blonde, White Male Officer wearing short sleeves arrives on scene from the east- Walks west bound towards the crashed car on mall sidewalk
03:03:43:08	White Male Officer wearing long sleeves appears on screen walking from the north
03:03:46:10	Long sleeve officer from the north side meets parallel to second officer who came from the west
03:03:55:14	Two different officers walk into camera view from the east side- they walk towards other officers
03:04:03:23	Unidentified officers/men walk into camera view from the NE side to join group of officers who are standing parallel to crashed car
03:04:31:13	Fire Department arrives on scene coming from the Northeast
03:05:51:04	Fire Department and Unidentified man with red backpack leave out of camera view but look to walk towards the Northeast
03:05:33:10	Two shadows appear from east walk towards the crashed car
03:05:33:10	2 paramedics or FD appear on video from the east and walk slowly with gurney to crashed car
03:05:57:25	One Firefighter and One cop enter into view and go to the paramedics on passenger side of the crashed car
03:08:45:25	Fire Department comes into video from the NE appearing to come from the driver’s side and walk to the passenger side near gurney
03:10:02:16	7 FD/Paramedics/PD mixture of men leave the scene walking east bound with unknown passenger on gurney
03:10:36:12	White overweight man appears on video from the west and appears to be watching the paramedics and officers leave the scene
03:10:51:10	1 Firefighter walks back in the scene towards the crashed car
03:10:56:06	Black Fireman appears to be talking to overweight unidentified man
03:11:01:13	Another Fireman appears on the video
03:12:06:50	Video time starts to speed up- lights appear to be going faster?
03:12:28:00	Video flashes a weird white light
03:13:03:18	Video times begin to slow back down?
03:16:31:09	Video time could have slowed back down here too…. Shadows seem to be moving normal
03:18:11:12	Officer with a uniform hat appears from the west of the scene. He walks east on the sidewalk with his flashlight on the crashed car. He seems to just walk back and forth

03:20:49:10	Officer appears from the west. Walks to the front passenger side of the car and gets his flashlight out to flashlight in the car.
03:21:10:12	Second officer appears from the east. Appears to be on the phone.
03:21:21:15	Officer still at the car, appears to be reaching or touching the front of the crashed car- flashlight on then walks east
03:22:51:23	Officer comes into the scene again from the east and shines his flashlight into the front passenger side of the crashed car. Holding flashlight in his right hand but places it on his left side back of the belt.
03:23:42:20	Officer who appears to be on the phone leaves camera view going west
03:25:37:06	Sgt with hat on approaches other officer at the front of the crashed car- directly under camera view
03:25:50:06	Another officer appears at the crashed car with flashlight on the passenger side
03:28:17:09	Officer and Sgt leave camera view walking eastbound- Appears something or someone caught their attention
03:28:37:29	Another officer appears to come onto the scene from the east and walks west bound
03:35:04:20	Storefront video ends and cuts from the big screen. – Car was still in the picture as it ended.

WALMART Video #1 showing Justin running.

Time	Description
02:56:10:21	Video starts- Appears to be a street view of Pascal Ave.
02:56:17:14	JT running southbound alongside of the mall and Pascal Ave
02:56:32:13	JT running southbound on sidewalk and appears to veer right into the garbage entrance across from Walmart camera 2
02:56:55:26	Unknown car pulling out of mall parking lot headed northbound
02:57:21:03	As you look at the top of the video- a person appears on the top left-hand side and crosses the street going towards where JT ran into the garbage area but walks on the sidewalk area walking NB.
02:57:30:11	Gold/Silver ford expedition maybe turning out of mall parking lot heading southbound on Pascal Ave
02:57:36:22	Unknown car pulls out of mall parking lot going northbound on Pascal Ave
02:57:40:09	Person walking on Pascal sidewalk appears in camera view and walking Northbound on Pascal Ave
02:58:02:26	Unknown car turning northbound on Pascal from mall
02:58:14:29	Unknown car turning northbound on Pascal from mall
02:58:14:29	Police Lights first seen
02:58:26:26	Person walking on the sidewalk can no longer be seen in the camera view. Walked northbound.

02:58:27:22	White Crown Vic police car appears to be driving southbound on Pascal and it looks like they point their flood lights on the sidewalk
02:59:04:18	Dark Car appears to travel southbound on Pascal Ave
02:59:26:23	Dark Car appears to travel southbound on Pascal Ave
02:59:47:15	Dark Car appears to travel southbound on Pascal Ave
02:59:49:22	Light car appears to turn out of mall parking lot traveling southbound on Pascal
03:00:28:28	Light car appears to turn out of mall parking lot traveling northbound on Pascal
03:00:48:00	While looking at the second Walmart camera- Car appears to be driving on Pascal southbound- But the car does not appear to have driven in the first Walmart video.
03:00:53:14	While looking at the second Walmart camera- Car appears to be driving on Pascal northbound- But car does not appear to have driven in the first Walmart video. Possibly Squad car Drives by VERY fast.
03:01:18:11	light colored car exits the mall parking lot and travels southbound on Pascal
03:01:39:14	If you watch closely on the left top side of the video by the trees you can see headlights appear and stop near where the garbage bins are…. followed by a squad car traveling northbound on squad.
03:01:40:14	Squad car appears on camera and drives northbound
03:01:55:04	Squad car appears to be driving on mall sidewalk traveling southbound
03:01:59:22	Cop exists squad car
03:02:08:23	Officer appears to go to the rear driver’s side door of the squad car and lets out his K9.
03:02:15:20	A second squad appears on scene coming from southbound Pascal and parks his squad in front of K9 squad
03:02:22:19	Third squad appears to be driving northbound on Pascal and passes squads 1 and 2
03:02:25:24	Officer who parked in front of the K9 squad exits his squad car and walks to meet with the K9 officer and dog.
03:02:47:08	Fire truck arrives on scene coming from the north of Pascal
03:03:06:06	Fire truck begins to back up heading northbound and officers 1 and 2 with K9 cross Pascal and head southeast down the sidewalk
03:03:29:02	Fire truck pulls into mall parking lot from Pascal
03:03:57:18	1st Walmart video ends.
	Should be noted that while the 1st Walmart video ends, Officers 1 and 2 are seen back on the west side of the mall garbage lot where JT was hiding.

Time	Description
02:56:32:29	2nd Walmart video begins and overlooks the Mall garbage entrance
02:56:40:09	JT enters the video- You can see him running behind the right second garbage bin
02:56:45:28	JT peaking up his head to see out onto road and then ducks back down
02:56:58:03	Person on Walmart side of Pascal seen walking across street to Mall side. Then walks northbound on mall sidewalk.
02:57:16:11	JT appears to peak out again
02:57:16:15	As JT appears out from garbage, Person walking across street is parallel to him
02:58:31:17	Squad Car appears to have driven past garbage bins shining flood lights
02:59:14:12	1st dark car seen driving southbound on pascal
02:59:40:25	2nd dark car seen driving southbound on pascal
02:59:57:15	3rd dark car seen driving southbound on pascal
03:00:01:26	4th light car following black car seen driving southbound on pascal
03:00:48:12	Car seen traveling southbound on pascal not seen on Walmart C1
03:01:19:08	In Walmart C1 light car turns out of mall parking lot and goes southbound Doesn’t appear to pass garbage bins?
03:01:21:29	Flashlight or flood light appears in the Walmart parking garbage lot on the doors of garbage
03:01:26:24	Unknown car traveling northbound on pascal passing garbage bins
03:01:28:20	Possible squad traveling northbound on pascal passing garbage bins
03:01:45:13	One of the two squads appears in the Walmart C1 showing them drive northbound on Pascal first unknown car appears to stop?
03:02:16:07	suspicious missing car might have been the second squad to show up on the scene with K9 officer. The squad does not appear on Walmart C2, but it does appear on Walmart C1
03:02:17:23	That third squad appears behind the second squad traveling north bound on Pascal but does not stop and continues to drive forward.
03:02:39:21	Flash appears on Walmart C2 but might be lightning?
03:03:45:05	Two Officers and K9 appear to be on the mall sidewalk walking near garbage entrance
03:03:46:17	K9 dog walks right past the dumpster where JT was- Officers closely behind Appears officers are running?
03:03:59:20	Dog appears to stop near the left side of entrance, but officer shines his flashlight on the two dumpsters JT is behind.
03:04:01:18	One officer appears to walk back towards the dumpster with his flashlight, K9 officer stays

03:04:08:13	Same officer appears to go to the right side of the dumpster and goes out of sight behind the trees
03:04:17:06	Officer appears to come back into the video and walks back past the garbage walking southbound
03:04:14:09	Second officer (K9?) appears to be behind retaining wall flashing his flashlight
03:04:24:20	Two officers appear to be near or behind retaining wall with flashlights
03:04:29:08	White pickup truck appears to drive southbound on Pascal Ave
03:04:33:22	White pickup truck appears to stop/ slow next to retaining wall where officers were.
03:04:39:22	White pickup appears to back up the truck so now it’s going northbound at the same time officers walk back into video view
03:04:42:16	Another white SUV appears to drive by passing white truck going southbound on Pascal
03:04:45:10	Another car drives by passing white truck going southbound. Officers and K9 appear to walk southbound on Pascal
03:04:48:03	White truck appears to back up some more as officers continue to walk forward
03:04:52:05	WHITE FLASH appears- right before flash officers walked southbound on Pascal and Truck starts to drive forward.
03:04:52:25	Video appears “normal” again and the truck heads southbound on Pascal Ave- Two officers check the corner of mall before walking again
03:05:05:07	Two officers appear to walk across Pascal Ave heading eastbound on Walmart side of street.
03:05:10:00	Lighting flash? Yellow light above mall trash can appears brighter
03:05:19:07	Two officers appear to be on the Walmart side near trash bins shining flashlight on walls and garbage bins – K9 Officer among 1 of 2
03:05:52:22	Two officers- specifically K9 dog search the middle containers
03:06:07:07	K9 Officer and dog head northbound towards blue pallets and second officer looks in the middle containers again
03:06:09:17	Lighting flash? Rain starts?
03:06:25:11	Two officers appear to go out of camera view and walk northbound
03:07:05:07	Two officers and K9 dog appear to come back into video view and walk southeast
03:07:11:28	Two officers and K9 go out of camera view again
03:07:52:13	Car seen traveling southbound on pascal
03:08:36:15	Yellow lights appear to get brighter
03:09:10:07	Appears to be raining and lightning
03:20:46:17	Car appears to be driving slowly southbound on Pascal

03:21:06:12	Car appears to be driving northbound on Pascal
03:21:12:00	Car appears to be driving northbound on Pascal
03:35:37:29	Car appears to be driving southbound on Pascal
03:35:42:03	Car appears to be driving northbound on Pascal
03:36:40:09	dark car appears to be driving southbound on Pascal
03:37:39:22	dark car appears to be driving southbound on Pascal
03:38:02:23	Two people appear to be walking northbound on Pascal on the Walmart side of the street
03:39:25:12	Car appears to pull out of Walmart lot and travels northbound on Pascal
03:40:18:02	Car appears to be driving southbound on Pascal
03:40:55:06	Car appears to be driving southbound on Pascal (white)
03:41:02:24	Car appears to be driving southbound on Pascal (white)
03:41:33:15	Car appears to be driving southbound on Pascal (white)
03:41:48:16	Car appears to be driving southbound on Pascal (larger white vehicle)
03:43:20:25	Car appears to be driving southbound on Pascal (dark)
03:43:27:19	Car appears to be driving northbound on Pascal
03:43:36:02	Flood light appears on Walmart garbage retaining walls
03:43:44:16	Flood light appears on Walmart garbage retaining walls and stays
03:44:03:29	Officer appears to come into video view and search garbage bins on the Walmart property
03:46:02:22	After searching the Walmart garbage bins officer exists camera view and appears to go back to his squad car
03:46:20:02	Officer drives away from Walmart garbage area
03:46:43:13	Car appears to be driving southbound on Pascal (white)
03:46:49:09	K9 Officer and dog appear to come back on Pascal walking northbound
03:47:11:04	K9 officer and dog appear to enter garbage area of mall
03:47:23:25	K9 officer and dog appear to go behind retaining wall and use flashlight
03:47:41:14	Squad car appears to be driving northbound on Pascal
03:47:43:11	Unknown person appears on camera view coming southbound walking northbound towards garbage area of mall
03:47:56:25	Person walks by retaining wall and stops
03:48:10:22	Squad car appears to be driving northbound on Pascal
03:48:18:23	white vehicle appears to be driving northbound on Pascal

03:49:08:18	Unknown person appears to be standing up on object back behind retaining wall ?
03:49:32:09	Unknown person looks to be standing or climbing on something behind retaining wall
03:49:47:22	Vehicle appears to be driving northbound on Pascal
03:50:00:22	Two officers appear to walk around from retaining wall and begin to walk southeast and across the street to Walmart side
03:50:24:07	Squad car drives past garbage bins southbound slowly
03:50:45:15	Squad car drives appears to be driving south bound on Pascal
03:51:12:17	Semi-truck drives southbound on Pascal
03:53:31:22	Squad car drives southbound on Pascal
03:55:33:27	Dark car appears to be driving southbound on Pascal
03:56:32:29	No movement in the video?
03:56:41:05	Movement again- Dark car appears to be traveling northbound
03:57:28:14	Larger vehicle appears to drive southbound on Pascal
03:58:52:29	white vehicle appears to be driving northbound on Pascal
04:00:02:23	Vehicle appears to be driving southbound on Pascal
04:01:15:10	Vehicle appears to be driving northbound on Pascal
04:02:12:29	Dark Vehicle appears to be driving southbound on Pascal
04:03:09:09	Light vehicle appears to be driving northbound on Pascal
04:03:53:09	Dark Vehicle appears to be driving southbound on Pascal
04:05:05:14	Two officers seen walking on the Walmart side garbage area looking through the garbage bins with flashlights- K9 dog with
04:05:44:04	Dark Vehicle appears to be driving northbound on Pascal
04:05:54:12	Two officers and K9 search blue pallets
04:06:23:16	Two officers go out of sight
04:07:01:13	Two officers and K9 walk back into sight walking southbound
04:07:21:05	Two officers appear to round the corner and walk towards Pascal Ave
04:07:38:00	Two officers appear to be walking Northbound on Pascal Ave walking Northbound on Walmart side?
04:08:10:26	Vehicle appears to be traveling southbound on Pascal
04:09:19:28	Squad appears to show up on scene and stop on pascal between midway and Walmart
04:09:30:18	Dark garbage truck seen traveling southbound on Pascal

04:10:06:27	Squad appears to start to drive off going southbound on Pascal
04:10:20:01	Squad stops a few hundred feet up the block
04:11:44:17	video movement stops?
04:11:57:00	video movement begins again?
04:12:46:01	Garbage truck enter videos from southbound pascal
04:12:55:13	Garbage truck enters midway garbage lot and stops
04:12:51:10	Parked squad car up the block leaves the area.
04:13:40:12	Garbage truck begins to move
04:14:11:06	Garbage truck back into the back retaining wall garbage area
04:15:33:17	Garbage truck begins to pick up garbage bin
04:16:31:16	Garbage truck begins to put down garbage bin
04:17:44:04	Black vehicle travels southbound on Pascal
04:17:56:12	Garbage truck begins to leave
04:18:16:14	Garbage truck begins to back up again
04:19:19:03	Garbage truck begins to pick up garbage bin
04:19:39:16	Garbage truck begins to put down garbage bin
04:20:14:05	Garbage truck begins to pick up garbage bin
04:21:49:29	Garbage truck begins to put down garbage bin
04:22:51:22	Garbage truck begins to leave
04:23:12:08	Garbage Man appears to walk behind truck
04:23:47:08	Garbage Man appears to walk back to truck
04:25:24:12	White car travels northbound on Pascal
04:25:33:03	Person seen walking on Walmart sidewalk southeast
04:26:19:19	Garbage truck leaves
04:26:26:26	Second garbage truck appears coming from northbound Pascal
04:26:47:11	Garbage truck begins to pick up garbage bin
04:26:56:10	Garbage truck dumps garbage
04:26:58:15	Garbage truck begins to put down garbage bin
04:27:16:18	Garbage truck appears to reverse
04:27:26:20	Garbage truck remains still
04:27:39:00	Garbage truck begins to reverse

04:27:53:19	Garbage truck begins to pull out of garbage area and head north bound on Pascal
04:28:24:11	Dark vehicle travels southbound on Pascal
04:34:39:15	Video movement stops?
04:34:51:09	video movement begins again?
04:35:57:08	Video movement stops?
04:36:06:15	Video movement begins again?
04:36:29?	Video ENDS

One other notable issue about the descriptions of the video is that in Dr. Lindsey Thomas’ notes, she said that according to Sgt. Jim Gray with SPPD,

“The surveillance video from Walmart shows Justin running down the street and climbing into the cardboard recycling dumpster at 2:54:43. Apparently it shows him burrowing under the cardboard. The video reportedly shows the police and dog passing right by the dumpster. At 4:41 the video shows a truck picking up the dumpster and dumping the contents into the truck.”

There is nothing on the video surveillance photos we have that show Justin “burrowing” underneath the cardboard. And again, it is highly doubtful that an award-winning K-9 handler and dog were unable to pick up his scent as they were walking right by the dumpster.

Photos of Car Crash

Weather

Dr. Lindsey Thomas reviewed the videos from Walmart on September 6th, 2009. She stated that on a video labeled D:\02.51.59_05.01.59avi, which showed the dumpsters across from the Walmart, it appeared to be raining at 3:08:00. CUAPB’s review of the footage that we have acquired also shows that the rain started around 3:06:09. However, weather reports for early morning August 19th, 2009, in St. Paul, MN states that the rain did not start until 3:53am. See the photo (left) from Weather Underground’s weather report from that day:

This suggests that there is a 45-minute discrepancy between the rain that appeared on the video footage from Walmart and when weather reports stated the rain began.

Autopsy Information

*WARNING: Section includes autopsy photos and detailed descriptions of the autopsy*

Basic Info

An autopsy was performed on Justin Teigen on August 19th, 2009, at 2:00pm. Justin’s body was found at 8:57am at the BFI Recycling/Allied Waste facility in Inver Grove Heights, MN. The autopsy report was performed by Lindsey C. Thomas, MD with the Dakota County Medical Examiner’s Office. At 2pm, rigor mortis had developed and he was cool to the touch, which suggests that he had died within the past 8 to 12 hours. Justin was 24 years old, weighed 210 pounds and stood 6 feet tall. His hair was black and in a very elaborate braided pattern. Note: The autopsy makes frequent mentions to lacerations and abrasions. Lacerations are deep cuts that are caused by tearing. Abrasions are milder injuries that involve a superficial scraping of the skin that only reaches the epidermal skin layer. With abrasions, the skin is rough, inflamed, and may slightly bleed while lacerations will bleed substantially. The autopsy also mentions contusions and lividity. Contusions, or bruises, are caused by a direct blow to the body that can cause damage to the surface of the skin and to deeper tissues depending on the severity of the blow. Lividity is the gravitational pooling of blood in the dependent parts of the body due to congestion of the blood vessels.

Injury Information
External Injuries
	Head Injuries
1.	The entire face appears congested and there is swelling of the upper and lower lips.
2.	Upper frenulum of the mouth minimally lacerated and contused
3.	Extensive hemorrhage in the conjunctiva of both eyes, more so on the right than the left.
4.	Purple discoloration of the right upper eyelid.
5.	On the right forehead, just above the lateral aspect of the right eyelid is a 2.5 x 1.5 cm series of superficial lacerations.
6.	On the right side of the forehead 6cm above the lateral aspect of the right eyebrow is a 1.5 x 0.1 laceration.
7.	On the right temporal area of the scalp, 7cm above the right ear, is a 5cm laceration.
8.	Also on the right side of the head, 8.5cm above the ear and around the laceration is a 10 x 9cm abraded area.

9.	The hair is absent in an approximately 4 x 3cm portion of this abrasion.
10.	On the left side of the forehead, 5cm above the medial aspect of the left eyebrow is a 1 x 0.5 abrasion.
	Chest Injuries
11.	On the chest extending from 5cm to the right of the right nipple across the center of the chest to the approximate center of the left clavicle in an area measuring 26 x 15cm is purple discoloration. “This may either be contusion or lividity.”
	Back Injuries
12.	On the right side of the back, 12cm above the level of the waist and 11 cm to the right of the midline in a 10 x 10cm area are scattered abrasions. Individually, the abrasions measure up to 1.5 x 0.5cm.
13.	In the right center of the back, 14cm above the level of the waist and 3cm to the right of the midline are two abrasions each of which are 1 x 0.5cm.
14.	17cm above the level of the waist in the center of the back is a 19 x 20 area of dark purple discoloration.
15.	There is a small vague area of red discoloration over the upper right buttocks.
	Left Side
16.	Left leg: On the posterior (back) side of the lower left leg, 4cm below the knee, is a diagonal 10 x 0.6cm superficial laceration. “This appears postmortem and is consistent with the ‘claw’ of the bobcat.”
17.	On the medial aspect of the lower left leg 18cm below the knee is a 4 x 4cm area of purple-red discoloration.
18.	On the anterior (front) lateral (side) lower left leg just below the knee is a 4.5 x 2cm area of purple-red discoloration.
19.	On the anterior lower left leg are multiple scattered other areas of red discoloration.
20.	On the anterior (front) aspect of the upper left leg 3cm above the knee is a horizontal 12 x 0.2cm superficial linear laceration.
21.	7cm above the knee is an inverted V-shaped injury in which there is blistering of the epidermis. This measures 5cm and 7cm x 0.3cm.

22.	Just beneath this inverted “V” is a 2x2cm area of purple discoloration.
23.	On the anterior upper left leg 11cm above the knee is an 8 x 0.1cm abrasion.
24.	18 cm above the knee is a 4.5 x 0.1cm linear abrasion.
25.	There are multiple areas of discoloration on the medial aspect of the upper left leg, the largest of which is 10 x 4 cm.
26.	Left body: Extending along the left lateral aspect of the body from 10cm below the axilla to the left lateral upper thigh are a series of dark purple apparent contusions. Overall these are in an area measuring 57 cm x up to 9cm. “This may represent postmortem lividity or contusion.
27.	Left hand: On the dorsum of the left hand over the 3rd and 4th knuckles are abrasions in a 3.5 x 2.5cm area. These are most prominent over each knuckle and each individual abrasion is approximately 1-1.5cm.
28.	On the dorsum of the left hand 2cm distal to the wrist is a 3mm abrasion.
29.	Left arm: On the left elbow is a 1.5 x 0.7cm abrasion.
30.	On the medial aspect of the upper left arm 5 cm above the elbow is a 4 x 2 cm postmortem skin abrasion; this is discolored yellow.
	Right Side
31.	Right Leg: On the lateral lower right leg, 24 cm above the ankle is a 3 x 1.5cm area in which there is apparent postmortem abrasion.
32.	On the anterior lower right leg 1 cm below the knee is a 2.5 x 1.5cm area of purple discoloration.
33.	On the anterior lower right leg 12 cm below the knee is a 9 x 4cm area of vague red discoloration in which there is a 5 x 4mm abrasion.
34.	On the medial upper right knee is a 1 x 0.5cm abrasion.
35.	Right body: On the right lateral side of the body extending from the right axilla to the right lateral iliac crest in an area measuring 38 x 15cm area are multiple abrasions and areas of red purple discoloration.
36.	The largest abrasion is 4 x 2cm and this is in the right midaxillary line 8cm below the axilla.

37.	On the lateral iliac crest is a circular abrasion that is 3cm in diameter.
38.	On the right side of the abdomen, 5cm from the midline and at the level of the umbilicus and above in a 10 x 14cm area are multiple linear, predominantly horizontal abrasions. Individually these each measure up to 5 x 3.5cm.
39.	Right arm: On the anterior aspect of the upper right arm 10 cm below the shoulder is a 10 x 5cm area of purple and red discoloration.
40.	On the ventral upper right arm 4cm above the antecubital fossa are two, horizontal linear superficial lacerations. These are 3cm and 3.5cm and appear postmortem.
41.	On the ventral lower right arm 8cm above the wrist is a 1.5 x 1cm purple contusion.
42.	On the dorsum of the right wrist is a 4.5 x 1.5cm area of abrasions and contusions.
43.	On the lateral right shoulder is a 3 x 1cm abrasion/contusion.
*Internal Injuries*
	Head: Scalp and subgaleal hemorrhage covering most of the right side of the head (15 x 15cm).
	Neck: Small amount of hemorrhage on the posterior aspect of the thyroid cartilage and adjacent to the vertebral column.
	Hemorrhage in the soft tissues of the posterior neck and adjacent to the vertebral column.
	Body cavities: small areas of hemorrhage in the anterior chest wall muscles.
	Lungs: Congestion and extravasation of blood into alveoli
	Tongue: Acute hemorrhage with leukocytes without hemosiderin

Dr. Thomas’ Cause of Death

I. Asphyxia due to mechanical compression in recycling truck

Conjunctival hemorrhage and petechiae
Anterior chest wall muscle hemorrhages
Hemorrhage in posterior neck
Numerous contusions and abrasions
Pulmonary congestion
Terminal aspiration of gastric contents

II. Blunt force head injuries due to motor vehicle crash

Scalp laceration and abrasion
Scalp and subgaleal hemorrhage
No skull fracture or intracranial injury
Facial contusions

III. Mild hepatic inflammation

Mildly thickened mitral valve

CUAPB Analysis of Autopsy

1. Subgaleal Hemorrhage Potentially Due to Hair Pulling?

Dr. Thomas indicated that one of her diagnoses and causes of death for Mr. Teigen was “scalp and subgaleal hemorrhage.” A subgaleal hemorrhage is an abnormal condition and is an accumulation of blood that forms between the skull and the skin on the scalp. This hemorrhage is mainly found in newborns after a difficult vaginal delivery. “Its occurrence beyond the neonatal period is often associated with head trauma involving tangential and or radial forces applied to the scalp (such as hair pulling), causing emissary veins traversing the subgaleal space to be ruptured,” (Bansal et al., 2017). There have been numerous documented cases of children with SGH due to hair braiding or pulling, because of their thinner scalp and increased vascular subaponeurotic space.

However, there are several cases of adults with SGH due to hair pulling. For example, a male developed SGH after his long hair was twisted in a work accident. His hair was caught in an air compressor, and the emissary veins in the loose areolar tissue tore. As described by Chen et al., 2017, “here the [hemorrhaging] mechanism is similar, but more pronounced than that of hair combing and braiding.” Another person developed SGH following hair pulling in a play fight (Edmonson et al., 2016)

Justin Teigen was missing a 4 x 4 cm patch of hair on the right side of his head, above the laceration and the subgaleal hemorrhaging. Dr. Thomas described in the autopsy that Justin’s hair was braided in a very elaborate braided pattern. Yet, he is missing a 4 x 4 cm section of this elaborate braiding pattern and the braids adjacent to the wound look torn and loose. See the photos below for the area where hair was missing and note that in the lower left corner of the left photo, there is a loose braid that appears to have been torn. The right photo shows a close up of the torn braid, and what appears to be blood on the end.

It is possible that Justin’s hair was pulled from his head, causing the subgaleal hemorrhaging. Patients with SGH may develop a headache, emesis (vomiting), drowsiness, or amnesia. Dr. Thomas did also note in her autopsy that Justin has “terminal aspiration of gastric contents”, meaning he inhaled or choked on his own vomit. His vomiting may have been induced by the subgaleal hemorrhage, not asphyxia due to mechanical compression of the recycling truck as described by Dr. Thomas in her final diagnosis. It is also possible that Justin’s asphyxia might be the result of choking on his own vomit as a result of the torn hair and subsequent hemorrhaging. See another photo right with another photo of the laceration to Justin’s scalp and the elaborate braids he had.

2. No Crushing Injuries, Fractures, or Broken Bones?

Justin also did not have crushing damage, that would be consistent with injuries reported in other cases of crushing in a recycling truck. Other reports of individuals accidentally being dumped into garbage trucks suffer crushing injuries consistent with the equipment used to transport garbage or recycling include:(Olsen, 2021; Schweers, 2016, Manzoni & Pescaro, 2021, Potenteau, 2022). In one case, a homeless man who had crawled into a dumpster to sleep was found dead in the garbage truck with broken ribs, hemorrhaging in the eyes, and compression of the chest. Another was found with face, skull, jaw, neck, and rib fractures (Schweers, 2016).

The medical examiner stated that the following injuries were related to Justin’s “asphyxia due to mechanical compression in recycling truck”:

– Conjunctival hemorrhage and petechiae
– Anterior chest wall muscle hemorrhages
– Hemorrhage in posterior neck
– Numerous contusions and abrasions
– Pulmonary congestion
– Terminal aspiration of gastric contents

The conjunctival hemorrhage and petechiae is consistent with other recycling truck crushing victims. Crushing victims who suffer from traumatic asphyxia, or crush asphyxia, typically also have petechiae in the face and upper chest (Milroy, 2013). Dr. Thomas only noted a few tiny petechiae in Justin’s lower eyelids. If Justin was crushed, why was there not more petechiae in the eyes, face, and upper chest?

Interestingly, Justin did not have any fractures at all. His skull, ribs, neck, and jaw all remained intact. The fact that he had no fractures or broken bones is inconsistent with the narrative that he died from compression in the recycling truck.

3. Purple Discoloration Across Chest from the Seatbelt?

Justin had purple discoloration, or bruising, on his chest extended 5cm to the right of the right nipple across the center of the chest to the approximate center of the left clavicle in an area measuring 26 x 15 cm. See the photo below for the deep purple marks across his chest and the horizontal cuts across his waist that resemble a seatbelt injury.

Dr. Thomas stated that the purple discoloration may either be due to “contusion or lividity.” Despite Dr. Thomas’ connection of Justin’s other injuries to specific parts of the incident, she never connects this contusion with marks that are frequently left on car crash victims who are wearing a seatbelt. She actually disputes in her later notes that Justin was wearing a seatbelt, saying that it is not consistent with his head injury or the broken windshield of the car. See the photo below of the seatbelt marks made to a car crash survivor.

An engineering firm, Search Engineering, Inc., hired by one of the family’s attorneys asserted that Justin was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash. However, the contusions and cuts on his body do resemble a seatbelt related injury.

4. Possible dog bites on Justin’s legs?

As discussed earlier, CUAPB raises its eyebrow that K9 Auggie and K9 Officer Davis failed to track Justin’s scent and locate him. Raising further suspicions, there are several cuts and punctures around Justin’s lower legs and ankles that resemble dog bites. photos below.

These suspected bite marks can be compared to the bite marks of a man who was bitten by a police dog in Regina, Canada, below.

5. Potential bias of the Medical Examiner

Dr. Lindsey Thomas had several conversations and interactions with Tania Teigen, Justin’s mom, and other members of his family. In Dr. Thomas’ notes, she made statements that revealed her potential bias against Justin and members of his family.

For instance, after a long conversation with Tania Teigen about her son, Dr. Thomas wrote in her notes, “There is an incredible disconnect between her perspective of her beloved son and the reality of his life, especially with his interactions with the legal system. She reiterated at length the story of his prior beating by St. Paul PD and the many “lies” they have told her. She met with Commander Lynch but did not feel he was giving her the whole story. According to her, the passenger in the car is a dear friend of Justin’s and said that Justin was belted at the time of the crash. I don’t feel that fits with his head injury, or the presence of the broken windshield on the driver’s side.”

Dr. Thomas’ commentary on Tania’s “incredible disconnect” of her perspective and the reality of her son’s life is unprofessional and unwarranted. It is not the medical examiner’s place to make judgments about the mental state of a woman whose son had died under suspicious circumstances after a traffic stop, just a week after he had been beaten up by officers from the same department.

Secondly, Dr. Thomas wrote, “[Tania] said Justin should have had $3000 with him – something about a student loan (?) I did not tell her about the drugs in the car, which could explain where the money went.”

Dr. Thomas is not a police officer or an investigator, and again, it is unprofessional for her to make any assertions about where the money went or what it was spent on.

Squad 197 (ROETT JER) was on patrol in front of the Perkins on University Ave in the parking lot near Rainbow foods. MN Plate 846 CXV drove south across the lot at a very high rate of speed. I activated my emergency lights and the vehicle stopped facing east in the north side of the parking lot.	The Perkin’s parking lot is small, and the photo shows the Perkins building and the parking lot is directly to the left/west of the Perkins.	Photo from Google Maps
I walked up to the vehicle and could see three males in the car. The driver was bent over with his hands under the dashboard. I had my flashlight in my left hand and could see the driver reaching under the dash and I could not see his hands. I told him to put his hands out and he continued to dig under the console. I drew my firearm out of the holster and pointed it at the driver. I again ordered him, to put his hands where I could see them. He did not comply. The driver’s side window began to roll up. There was a front seat passenger and a passenger behind the driver in the rear. The driver later identified by MN DVS photo as (JUSTIN ANTHONY TEIGEN DOB 04- 13-85, 1517 Portland Ave St. Paul, MN 55104, P- Unknown). The driver placed the vehicle into drive and stepped on the gas pedal hard. I jumped back away from the vehicle I was afraid I was going to be run over or drug with the vehicle. My flashlight was stuck in the vehicle’s frame and window.	This is the flashlight that Officer Roettjer stated was caught in the driver side window as Justin was rolling the window up. The reason Justin may have not shown his hands is because of the spilled Red Bull on the floor. Officer Roettjer also says he pulled his gun out and pointed it at Justin and then Justin rolled his window up. Justin stopped his car and pulled over for the officer.

The vehicle accelerated and went east bound threw the parking lot over a median and around the corner. I could hear the engine accelerating and then I heard a loud crash as I was getting into my squad car. I called out on the radio as I drove around the corner.
I could hear the car accelerating and then I heard a loud crash as I was getting into my squad car. I called out on the radio as I drove around the corner.	According to Search Engineering, Inc., Justin’s charger DID NOT accelerate for five seconds before hitting the brick and cement pillar. The vehicle was going approximately 28 mph before it stopped accelerating which means he drove over 200 ft.	Here is a link to the Search Engineering Inc. firm’s report.
I saw the vehicle crashed into a cement pillar in front of 1466 university Ave. Teigen was exiting the vehicle and ran southbound on Pascal Ave. Teigen was wearing a dark colored shirt and dark colored shorts. Teigen was about 6 feet tall and 200 lbs. and had black hair that was tight like a cornrow style.	How did the car get positioned up on the sidewalk like that? There are scraps along the passenger side of the car and the mirror was knocked off.
I knew there were others in the vehicle, and I did not feel it would be safe to pass the vehicle without clearing it. I exited my squad car and saw the front passenger later identified by MN DVS photo as (Kalup Tyrone Hartwell) was hanging out the passenger’s side. There was a puddle of blood on the ground, and he was bleeding from the head. I started medics to the scene.