ST. PAUL, Minn. (WCCO) – Authorities have released the identity of the St. Paul officer who shot and injured a domestic assault suspect Sunday night.
The officer has been identified as Mark Farrington, a 12-year-veteran of the St. Paul Police force.
Police were in the area of Earl Street North and Germaine Avenue East at about 10:15 p.m. Sunday attempting to arrest Reginald Craig Sutherland, who had several active warrants and was a suspect in a felony domestic assault case. Authorities said while they tried to take him into custody, he fled and drove a vehicle in the direction of an officer who was on foot.
That officer, Farrington, fired at Sutherland and hit him with a non-life threatening gunshot wound. Sutherlin continued to drive before crashed his vehicle on the 900 block of Reaney Avenue and being arrested.
After being treated for injuries, Sutherlin was taken to the Ramsey County Jail and is there on $60,000 bail. Farrington was placed on a three-day administrative leave, standard procedure in officer-involved shooting incidents.
The Ramsey County Attorney’s Office charged Sutherlin with two counts of aggravated stalking, two counts of terroristic threats and one count of felony domestic assault in the case. According to court records, Sutherlin is accused of stalking his ex-girlfriend and her son and threatening to kill her on multiple occasions.
He told police the day he was arrested that he had a long-standing, problematic relationship with the woman and knew he had a warrant for his arrest “Because I was supposed to have beat her up and threw her down.” He also said that while he was visiting another woman, the victim showed up to the woman’s house and confronted her while he was there. The victim punched Sutherlin and called 911, and he accused her of setting him up to be arrested, according to charges.
A review of Sutherlin’s criminal record shows two previous convictions, in 2005 and 2009, for felony domestic assault. If convicted on the current charges, Sutherlin faces up to 35 years in prison and $70,000 in fines.
