St. Paul man surrenders peacefully after four-hour standoff in Edina that closed Hwy. 100

A man who rammed a pickup truck into a squad car, then led police on a chase before crashing into an Edina ditch, surrendered peacefully Saturday afternoon after a four-hour standoff with law enforcement officers, including a SWAT team.

The tense standoff, which was captured on a Minnesota Department of Transportation road camera, closed Hwy. 100 and several nearby roads, until Kelly Gordon Sauer, 48, of St. Paul, climbed out of the truck about 2 p.m., was evaluated by paramedics and arrested.

The incident began when a bystander noticed Sauer and a passenger, who wasn't identified by police, sleeping in the red pickup truck near Bredesen Park in Edina, according to Edina police. The bystander called police at about 9:30 a.m. and when officers arrived, they awoke Sauer and the passenger, who got out of the truck. According to Edina police, Sauer became agitated and rammed the squad car with the pickup truck before fleeing.

The car chase reached more than 75 miles per hour before Sauer lost control of the car while trying to exit Vernon Avenue onto Hwy. 100 and hit a fence. According to Edina police, Sauer hit another police squad car before other squad cars arrived to pin the truck in place. Police said Sauer threatened officers by saying he had a weapon and refused to leave the truck.

After four hours of negotiations involving five other west metro police and fire departments and the State Patrol, Sauer was arrested and charged with assault, fleeing police and possession of a stolen car. Police said they will file a search warrant for the pickup to see if a weapon was inside.

No one was hurt in the incident.

Staff writer Kelly Smith contributed to this report.