Crime & Safety

Southdale Librarian's Choker: 'You Don't Walk Away From Me'

The man was cited for fifth-degree assault and banned from the Southdale Library in September.

The 61-year-old St. Paul man cited for choking a librarian at Edina's Southdale branch assaulted the woman as she was walking away and attributed his anger to posttraumatic stress disorder, according to an investigation report recently released by the Edina Police Department.

Shortly after 1 p.m. on Sept. 22, the librarian found the man sleeping at a desk in the third-floor computer lab.

She tapped the desk and said, "Sir, you can't sleep here," but the man did not wake up. She repeated herself, but he still did not awaken so she slapped the desk harder and told him to wake up.

The man then jumped up, yelling at the librarian to leave him alone and saying she had no right to disturb him.

When the librarian turned to walk away, the man shouted, "You don't walk away from me, you bitch," according to the police report.

The librarian then felt the man's hands grabbing at the back of her neck.

He squeezed her neck, shoving her to the floor, while he continued to scream, the librarian told police.

"You know, I have PTSD," she said the man told her. "You should not wake me up that way!"

The librarian wrestled herself free and screamed for help. The man turned back to his desk.

A security guard stayed with the man as the librarian called police.

Police took the man to Richfield, at his request, and released him. 

The man was cited for misdemeanor fifth-degree assault and banned from the Southdale Library. He's due in court soon.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.

More from Edina