A newly filed federal lawsuit alleges that a Minnesota postal worker died after police officers and jail staff ignored clear signs he was suffering from a massive stroke – mistaking his medical emergency for drug impairment.
The suit, filed in U.S. District Court, accuses the City of Eagan and Dakota County of deliberate indifference in the death of 50-year-old Kingsley Fifi Bimpong, a U.S. Postal Service employee and lawful permanent U.S. resident originally from Ghana.
The lawsuit claims arresting officers failed to do a proper screening to determine whether Bimpong was having a stroke or experiencing a drug overdose – and it says jail guards allowed Bimpong to remain helpless on a jail cell floor in his own urine for hours without medical attention.
The Night of the Arrest
On the night of November 16, 2024, Bimpong vanished from his shift at the Eagan Postal Distribution Center after complaining of a headache.
At 10:44 PM, an Eagan police sergeant saw his car driving the wrong way on Pilot Knob Road – into oncoming traffic and striking a median curb.
According to police reports, after being pulled over, Bimpong appeared extremely confused. He couldn’t say where he lived or worked, even though he was wearing a USPS vest, and repeatedly said, “I don’t know.” Officers noted there was no smell of alcohol.
Eagan Officer Martin Jensen, a specially trained Drug Recognition Evaluator (DRE), was called to assess whether Bimpong was under the influence of drugs. DRE training, provided by the Minnesota State Patrol to officers, emphasizes distinguishing drug impairment from medical emergencies such as strokes.
But the lawsuit alleges Jensen disregarded his training.
According to the lawsuit, body camera audio captured him saying a full DRE evaluation, which typically takes between 30 and 45 minutes, would be “a whole bunch of time wasted.” When another officer questioned whether Bimpong should be taken to the hospital, Jensen replied, “For what?”
Instead, Bimpong was arrested for suspected DWI. He had his blood drawn at Eagan police headquarters and was then transported to the Dakota County Jail.
Hours Suffering in a Jail Cell
At the jail, video shows Bimpong stumbling, unable to complete the booking process. He was placed in a holding cell, where he fell, urinated on himself repeatedly, and writhed on the floor.
Guards conducting legally-mandated well-being checks repeatedly wrote “inmate and cell OK” in the official jail logs – even though security video showed him sprawled across the floor in his own waste, unable to stand.
For more than three hours, correctional officers can be seen walking past his cell while he lay on the floor in obvious distress. The jail nurse was not called until a female guard noted he was foaming at the mouth and having seizure-like activity. Assuming a drug overdose, based on his DWI arrest by the DRE officer, the nurse administered Narcan three times without response.
When paramedics finally arrived, Bimpong’s blood pressure was measured at a life-threatening 240/216 – which indicated a hypertensive crisis.
Body-worn camera captured a conversation between the nurse and a guard discussing how Bimpong was ignored, and the so-called well-being checks were not being done properly.
As Bimpong was being loaded onto a stretcher, the guard tells the jail nurse what happened earlier.
“He said, ‘he’s been that way all night, not to worry about it,’” said the guard.
The nurse replies, “That’s not okay.”
“Well,” the guard responded, “this person (the other guard) is not checking when he’s doing rounds. He’s just walking by and scanning.”
Bimpong was rushed to Regina hospital in Hastings and ultimately transferred to United Hospital in St Paul, but it was too late.
Tests showed he’d had a large intraparenchymal hemorrhage – a massive brain bleed – that had caused his brain to shift and his brain stem to squeeze out of the bottom of his skull.
He was declared brain dead and removed from life support on November 19, 2024.
Toxicology reports, by both the hospital and later the state crime lab, confirmed no drugs were in his system. The assumption he’d overdosed on drugs was clearly wrong.
Allegations of Systemic Failures
The lawsuit names three Eagan police officers and seven Dakota County correctional officers, along with Dakota County itself, as defendants. It claims violations of Bimpong’s constitutional rights under the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments.
Among the allegations:
- Ignored Training: Despite advanced DRE certification, Officer Jensen allegedly skipped required evaluation steps that could have revealed a medical emergency.
- Deliberate Indifference: Both police and jail officers are accused of ignoring classic stroke symptoms – confusion, drooling, one-sided weakness, and loss of bladder control.
- False Documentation: Jail logs recorded “inmate and cell OK” while video shows Bimpong incapacitated on the floor.
- Policy Failures: The Minnesota Department of Corrections later found that jail staff were behind on mandatory CPR and first-aid training, and that well-being checks were performed improperly.
Katie Bennett, an attorney representing Bimpong’s family, told KARE 11 that from the police officers in the field, to the correctional officers in the jail, authorities failed him at every step. “This is one of the worst jail deaths we’ve ever seen.”
Awaiting Response
The City of Eagan and Dakota County have not yet filed formal responses to the lawsuit. Eagan’s Police Chief, Officer Jensen, and the Dakota County Sheriff all declined comment when contacted for this report.
Bimpong, who had no criminal record, had worked for the Postal Service since 2016. He leaves behind a daughter and extended family in Ghana.
Source: KARE 11.com