The widow of a sheriff’s deputy who was gunned down in the line of duty warned Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz he was not welcome to the funeral because of his treatment of cops — threatening to kick his “ass out” if he dared show up.
Shannon Owen told Kamala Harris’ running mate that he was not welcome at the services of her husband, Josh Owen, an Iraq veteran and Pope County Sheriff Deputy who was shot and killed while working on his 44th birthday in April 2023.
“You have never been a supporter of the police and I’d just appreciate it if you just don’t come anywhere near my town,” she warned Walz in a recording obtained by the Telegraph.
“And he’s like ‘Why is that?’ And I said ‘Because you defunded the police. You don’t even support the police, why would I want you to come?’” the widow said, stressing that her husband “did not like him at all.”
The widow then warned Walz that if he did show, she would “make sure that I escort your ass out of here.”
Sounding flustered, Walz responded: “I totally understand and respect your rights. Our officers are here to support you in any way you need,” before the call abruptly ended, the Telegraph noted.
The governor did not go to the funeral.
The slain deputy’s widow believes Walz is unfit to be the next vice president, claiming he’s putting on a “nice guy” persona to win voters.
“I don’t like the way he is with the cops’ situation, the military situation. I just feel he is a puppet right now. He is not actually speaking about what he really wants to do,” she told the UK paper.
Josh Owens was killed while responding to a domestic violence call on April 15, 2023. As he tried to arrest the suspect, the man drew a gun and shot him four times.
The 12-year National Guard vet served a two-year tour of Iraq in 2006 with his Minnesota unit — the same unit Walz had controversially quit in 2005 before his own deployment.
Owens had been planning to quit the force right before he died, said his widow, who recalled how she “just screamed” when she and her 10-year-old son, Rylan, were told about his death.
The cop was upset with law enforcement reforms put in place after the death of George Floyd, who was murdered by Minneapolis Police in 2020, sparking nationwide protests.
Walz, who is now the Democrat’s vice presidential candidate, made several attempts to contact the widow, but she resisted as she knew her husband was not a fan of the new restrictions he’d put in place for police that he felt made officers’ jobs more dangerous.
One day, she finally accepted his call on speakerphone with a family member recording.
“I took the phone call. I didn’t say much. I just let him ramble because that is what politicians do,” she told the Telegraph.
“I said: ‘Are you planning on coming to the funeral’ and he said: ‘Of course I’d be honored to come’ and I said: ‘Well you’re not welcome’. And he’s like ‘Why is that?’ And I said ‘Because you defunded the police. You don’t even support the police, why would I want you to come?’
“And Josh did not like him at all. And that would have been his wishes to not have any corrupt politicians there.
“He [Walz] was a little bit blindsided on that and didn’t know what to say. I just said: “And if you show up to my town I know everybody in my hometown will escort you out because I don’t want you here.”
After George Floyd’s death, Walz signed a bill that banned choke-holds and mandated officers report and intervene when fellow officers’ use excessive force.
He also established a state investigation unit for police officers as well as a database for police misconduct. In 2023, he signed a bill limiting no-knock warrants.
Walz “went too far” in introducing reforms post Floyd’s death, Shannon said.
“After that everything was against the cops, defunding the cops,” she told the paper — although Walz has not been supportive of the “Defund the Police” cause.
Walz’s office did release a public statement at the time of Josh’s death in which he hailed the deputy as a “hero.”
More than four years later, Republicans have blasted Walz as a left-wing radical who was too slow to act — while some progressives claim he was not radical enough in addressing police abuses.
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