BISMARCK, N.D. — The 42-year-old son of U.S. Sen. Kevin Cramer was charged Thursday with manslaughter and fleeing an officer after a police chase ended in a crash that killed a North Dakota sheriff's deputy who had just installed a deflation device. of tires on the road and took cover behind his patrol car, according to court documents.
Ian Cramer, of Bismarck, was driving more than 100 miles per hour and already had two flat tires when he crashed head-on into Deputy Paul Martin's patrol car Wednesday, pushing it “directly into Martin's body and throwing him approximately 100 feet,” according to charging documents . Martin, 53, was killed.
Ian Cramer will make his first court appearance Friday on multiple felonies, including manslaughter, fleeing a police officer and reckless endangerment. Court records did not list an attorney for him, and Sen. Kevin Cramer declined an interview after charges were filed out of respect for Martin's family.
Earlier Thursday, Cramer released a statement saying, “We ask the public for prayers for the lost officer's family and colleagues who serve us every day and are grateful for all they do for us.”
According to Bismarck police, Ian Cramer was driven to the emergency room at Sanford Health in Bismarck by his mother on Wednesday around 4:30 p.m. due to concerns about his mental health. As she got out of the SUV, Cramer took the wheel and crashed through a door to get out of a locked ambulance bay in the hospital's emergency department.
One of Senator Kevin Cramer's daughters tracked the SUV via cell phone and alerted authorities.
More than an hour later, a Mercer County sheriff's deputy spotted Cramer and the Chevrolet Tahoe in Hazen, a community about 70 miles (113 kilometers) northwest of Bismarck. The North Dakota Highway Patrol said in a news release that a pursuit then began.
The first attempts to stop Cramer did not work. Charging documents say an officer from nearby Beulah used a tire deflation device, which punctured two of Cramer's tires, but he continued driving on North Dakota Highway 200. About 5 miles outside of Hazen, Beulah Police Chief Frank Senn and Martin more idle time. devices and took cover behind their cars. Cramer swerved and struck Martin's vehicle.
Cramer allegedly started running away after the crash. Senn subdued him to the ground and was injured when Cramer resisted, court documents show.
Martin was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead. Cramer was examined at a hospital and then jailed.
The father of Ian Cramer, a first-term Republican senator, wrote that his son “suffers from severe mental disorders manifested by severe paranoia and hallucinations.”
On Wednesday, Ian Cramer had insisted he “go to his brother Ike,” who died in 2018, according to the senator's statement, which did not further explain what that means. Alarmed, Kris Cramer then took her son to the emergency room.
In 2013, Ian Cramer was charged with simple assault for allegedly injuring his brother's head; he pleaded guilty. His file also includes a 2010 citation for driving under the influence in Arizona, and several traffic citations this year and last, including one as recently as the day before the crash, for driving with a suspended license.
Martin was an 18-year veteran of the sheriff's office who said he was married with three children.
In a post on the sheriff's office Facebook page, Mercer County Sheriff Terry Ternes said Martin “is our beloved brother in law enforcement, a husband, father and grandfather. Our wound is raw and our hearts are broken.”
Whitney Zeadow, 36, who lives near Hazen, said Martin was once her neighbor; sometimes she cared for the retired police dogs he kept when he was not home.
“He was just a wonderful man,” Zeadow said, fighting back tears. “He was the type that would be your champion. He was just there to support the community, help the kids. It doesn't matter. He was just a joy to be around.”
Kevin Cramer was elected to the Senate in 2018 after serving three terms in the House of Representatives. He was a fierce advocate for law enforcement. He is also co-sponsoring legislation to address the shortage of mental health providers in schools and expand mental health services for military families and veterans. However, critics say he has supported cuts that put people with mental illness at risk of losing coverage.
In his statement Wednesday, Cramer said his family grieves for “the family of the hero Ian tried to help.”
The Cramer family has experienced tragedies before.
Isaac “Ike” Cramer started dating a woman who was a mother of one child, Abel, in 2007. Three years later, the woman was murdered by her estranged husband. Kevin and Kris Cramer adopted the child, who is now a teenager. Cramer also has two daughters and six grandchildren, according to his Senate website.
In 2018, shortly after Kevin Cramer announced his run for Senate, Ike Cramer died of liver and kidney failure after a long battle with alcohol addiction. He was 35.
After Martin's death, some who posted on the sheriff's Facebook page said the deputy took them to jail. They described him as a friendly person and said he was always respectful.
Cody Schank said he ended up in jail himself, but still praised Martin.
In a private message to The Associated Press, Schank wrote: “Paul will be greatly missed and by many it is a terrible situation, and very sad that it had to happen to such a good-hearted soul like his.”
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Salter reported from O'Fallon, Missouri. Associated Press researcher Rhonda Shafner in New York and Heather Hollingsworth in Mission, Kansas, contributed to this report.