Who is Ronald Reed?

Ronald Reed, a former member of the Black
United Front, was convicted of the 1970 shoot-
ing ofa St. Paul police officer. Thirty-five years
affer the killing, Reed was arrested and convict-
ed of first-degree murder and conspiracy to
commit first degree-murder. He is currently
serving lfe in prison.

Reed is a former 60s civil rights activist. In
1969, Reed was among the students at St. Paul
Central High School who demanded black histo-
ry courses be offered and organized actions
against racist teachers. He was also instrumenal
in helping to integrate college campuses in
Minnesota. During this period, Reed began to.
look toward revolutionary theory and started to
engage i political street theater with other
‘young black revolutionaries in the city.

Shooting on Hague Avenue

On May 22, 1970, St. Paul officer James
Sackett was responding to a bogus emergency
call at a home in the 800 block of Hague
Avene. While responding to the call, Sackett
was ambushed by a sniper and killed. Police
immediately looked at Black radicals as those
responsible for the incident, arresting several
men they claimed were members of the Black
Panther Party. The men were released for lack of
evidence.

Also arrested was a young woman by the
name of Connie Trimble. She was charged with
making the call that led 1o the ambush of the
cop. She was tried but acquitted of the charges,
despite the fact that it was revealed during the
trial that Trimble was involved in the incident
yet refused to give the names of the others
involved. She did, however, served time in jail
for contempt of court,

During the trial of Trimble, a confidential
“informant” testified that Trimble was a Black
Panther and she and other Black Panther com-
mandos were acting under the orders of Panther
leader Ronald Reed. Still no one else was tried.

The Robbery

'ALS pm, on October 20, 1970, three armed
men entered the Ames Plaza Bank in Omaha,
Nebraska with the intent of expropriating funds.
A shootout resulted between security guard
and the men involved in the expropriation. The
‘guard, who was also an ofF-duty cop, was shot
in the chest.

Ten days later Larry Clark, Recd's co-defen-
dant was arrested i St. Paul. Reed was later
aresied on November 13th in southeast
Minneapolis

Police clamed to have found Reed in pos-
session of detaled notes laying out aplot to kid-
nap Minnesota's governor, Harold LeVander and
St Paul City Council Member Rosalic Butler

Police also claimed they discovered a state-
‘ment indicating plans to hijack a United Airlnes
jetout of Minneapolis. The plot was designed to
‘win the release of Connie Trimble and Larry
Clark. According 1o newspapers, Reed also
iended to demand the release of Angela Davis
and a young activist named Gary Hogan
Despite police claims, the charges of conspiring
o commitai piracy were dismissed because
there was no evidence of the conspiracy other
than the notes.

In recent articles, Reed' brother has staed
these charges were fabricated against his broth-
er. Reed and Clark were stil charged with the
robbery and were extradited to Nebraska. They
were cach sentenced to 10-t0-25 years i prison.

On October 26, 1976, Reed escaped, but was
arested in Los Angeles on February 3, 1977.
Reed served 13 years and Lany served less than
8 yeans

The Arrests

“The case regarding the death of the officer
Sackett remained cold for nearly twenty-five
years. But in 1994, during an interview with §
Eyewitness News, Connie Trimble claimed that
Ronald Reed was with her when she made the
call. This statement re-opened an investigation.

In January 2005, during a grand jury hearing
over the killing of Officer Sackett, Connie
Trimble-Smith, repeated her claims that Reed
was the one that encouraged her to make the
call. The grand jury indicted Ronald Reed and
Larry Clark and the two were arrested. Reed
was living in Chicago, working as a pipe fitter.
Clark was homeless living in Minneapolis.

Police stated the two men had been the
prime suspects since the killing. Originally, they.
claimed Reed and Clark were Black Panthers
bent on killing cops. According to the media and
prosectiors, the Twin Cities Black Panthers
were involved in drug dealing, bomb making
and other acts of "terror” that led to the killing
of Officer Sackelt. The catch to these claims
was that there was no Black Panther Party in the
Twin Cities. No raids or arrests targeting.
Panthers, as seen in many different cities in the
country at the time, ever took place in the Twin
Citis.

Prosecutors later altered their position claim-
ing that Reed and his co-defendant were "Black
Militanis" not "Black Panthers” - a term so
broad it could have at one time included Jesse
Jackson. Reed and others, they claim, engaged
i the ambush in hopes of imprssing the Black
Panther leadership and starting a chapter in St
Paul,

The Testimonies

‘The case rested on the testimony of several
prosecution witnesses. Connie Trimble who ear-
lier tesified that Reed persuaded her to make
the call that lured the cop into the ambush
recanted some her earlier remarks. However
during the trial, she claimed that Reed did not
‘murder Sackett and, in fact, had been duped like
her. She stated affer the two made the call to the
police, they went to Larry Clark's home and
stayed together the rest of the night.

“Trimble also testified that she made the call
but that they were calling the cops on a neighbor
who had been having a party and making too
‘much noise. Neither she nor Reed wre aware of
any plot to killthe officer.

Another witness, Joseph Garret who claimed.
1o be a Panther with Reed, stated that Reed had
asked him if he was interested in helping him
“bring down the first pig.” Garrett claimed he
declined. Several days before the shooting,
Garret was stopped by traffic cop and was
found in possession of a gun. Afier a discussion,
Garrett told the officer to "waich the roofiops."
He was arrested shortly afier the shooting of
Sacket, but was released.

John Griffin, presently serving a 30-year drug
sentence, testified that Reed informed him what
it was like to kill a cop and that Reed had also
ordered a bombing campaign that Griffin backed
out of. The problem with this testimony is that
Reed was in prison serving 13 years in
Nebraska during the time Griffin claimed these
things took place.

The fact remains the police were not able to
produce the murder weapon, an eyewitness (o
the shooting, or any physical evidence connect-
ing Reed to the killing. Despite this, Reed and
Clark were both found guilty and sentenced to
life in prison.

However, in 2008, the courts overtumed
Clark’s conviction, stating the judge failed to
instruct the jury that under Minnesota law a
eriminal conviction cannot be based on the
uncorroborated testimony of an an accomplice.
‘The prosecutor’s case against Clark rested solely
on the testimony of Trimble.

However in 2009, Clark pled guilty to con-
spiring to commit the first-degree murder of
Officer James Sackett, Under the plea agreement
- which dismissed the murder charge - Clark
was sentenced to six years in prison, with the
eredit for time he already served since his arrest
in 2005, Before his case was being overtumed
and the new plea agreement, Clark's attorney
responded to a letter from ABCF demanding
Clark not be placed on our lst.

Reed was denied a new trial in 2007.

FREE RONALD REED

To write to Ronald Reed:
Ronald Reed #219531

Minnesota CF-Oak Park Heights
5329 Osgood Avenue North
Stillwater, Minnesota 55082

Local Groups Supporting Reed:
NYC Anarchist Black Cross

Post Office 110034

Brooklyn, New York 11211
electronic mail: nycabe@riseup.net
nyeabe.wordpress.com
facehook/nycabe

twitter and instagram @nycabe

NYC Jericho Movement
Post Office Box 670927

Bronx, New York 10467

electronic mail: nycjericho@gmail.com
jerichony.org

twitter @JerichodPPs

Ronald Reed

A FORMER CIVIL RIGHTS
ACTIVIST WHO WAS FALSELY
CONVICTED TO LIFE FOR A
CRIME THAT TOOK PLACE 36
YEARS PRIOR