Officer accidentally shoots fleeing motorcyclist

An Eden Prairie police officer who accidentally shot a man in the arm, following a high-speed chase, blames the mistake on the “high stress” of the situation and “muscle memory” from training 20 days before the shooting. The shooting happened on June 20, 2015. Sergeant Lonnie Soppeland had been pursuing Matthew Hovland-Knase at speeds above 110 miles per hour, according to police reports. At one point, Hovland-Knase pulled the motorcycle over and Soppeland emerged from his squad car with his gun drawn. In video of the shooting, exclusively obtained by Fox 9, there is the sound of a gun shot, followed by Soppeland uttering expletives, and Hovland-Knase moaning and saying “I’m bleeding.” Within seconds of the shooting, Soppeland gathers medical supplies and provides first aid. He also apologizes. “Oh, you actually shot me, didn’t ya? Hovland-Knase asks. “I’m not going to say anything right now, but was not intentional. I can tell you that,” Soppeland replies. “I know it wasn’t,” says Hovland-Knase. Hovland-Knase was later convicted of fleeing an officer, according to court records.