Governor Walz comments on investigation into Flores incident: “Rest assured there will be a full investigation” | Local

(KIMT NEWS 3) – While visiting a Pine Island farm to raise awareness of resources for young farmers, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz was asked by the press about further investigations into the death of 18-year-old Olivia Flores.

The Owatonna teenager died from his injuries following a car crash near Apache Mall in Rochester on May 18. Minnesota State Trooper Shane Roper, 32, crashed into the vehicle in which Flores was a passenger. Five other people were also injured in the crash.

Nearly a month after the accident, Rochester police completed an investigation that was turned over to the Olmsted County District Attorney’s Office. During the same period, Flores’ family hired Restovich Braun & Associates to conduct an investigation in hopes of finding answers and holding those responsible for the 18-year-old’s death accountable.

Rochester police said their investigation revealed that Trooper Roper drove at high speeds without his hazard lights on at least four times on May 18. In one case, he reached speeds of 135 mph (217 km/h), and in other cases, he reached speeds of over 100 mph (160 km/h). According to police, in each of these cases, Roper either did not turn on his hazard lights or turned them off while traveling at extremely high speeds.

On July 9, Trooper Shane Roper was charged with second-degree manslaughter, involuntary manslaughter, and other charges.

According to his personnel file, State Trooper Roper was also involved in four separate speeding violations while driving his patrol car on duty.

In response to the investigation and Flores’ death, Governor Tim Walz said:

“So, first of all, to the Flores family, whose loss of Olivia is beyond tragic, and to the students at Owatonna High School who are traumatized by this. We ask a lot of our police officers, and they have to do a lot, but the public needs to know that we do this job right. So I think there will be a full and thorough investigation, both judicial and internal, to make sure that practices are followed.”

Governor Walz said it is important to determine whether things could or should have been done differently.

“I assure the family that they can be assured that the incident will be fully investigated,” said Governor Walz.

Trooper Roper is currently on leave from the State Patrol and is scheduled to make his first court appearance on August 29.