Walter James Palmer, the dentist who gained international attention in 2015 for killing a well-known lion during a hunting trip in Zimbabwe, is now facing charges in connection with a May 26 traffic incident in Eden Prairie.
Palmer, 65, of Eden Prairie, was charged June 3 in Hennepin County District Court with two gross misdemeanors: refusing to submit to a chemical test and obstructing the legal process; and two misdemeanors: fourth-degree driving while impaired and careless driving.
According to the criminal complaint, Eden Prairie police responded at about 8:50 p.m. to a 911 call about a Porsche Cayenne swerving and striking curbs near Hennepin Town Road and Riverview Road. The driver, later identified as Palmer, was reportedly seen crossing into oncoming traffic before pulling into his residence.
When officers arrived, they reported that Palmer smelled of alcohol, had slurred speech and watery eyes. He refused to complete field sobriety tests and, when officers attempted to detain him, he allegedly resisted, ran toward his home and fell, suffering a laceration above his left eyebrow, the complaint states. Additional officers assisted in taking him into custody.
Palmer was transported by paramedics to Fairview Southdale Hospital, where he later refused to comply with a court-ordered blood or urine test after consulting with an attorney. He was issued a summons and is scheduled to appear July 2 in Hennepin County District Court in Minnetonka.
Palmer drew international scrutiny in 2015 after, according to multiple news reports, he reportedly paid $50,000 to hunt and kill Cecil, a GPS-collared lion popular with tourists and researchers at Zimbabwe’s Hwange National Park. The hunt sparked widespread backlash and protests outside his dental practice. While Zimbabwean authorities opened an investigation, Palmer was not charged in either Zimbabwe or the United States.
In a 2015 interview with the Star Tribune, Palmer said he believed the hunt was legal and did not know Cecil was a protected animal. “If I had known this lion had a name and was important to the country or a study, obviously I wouldn’t have taken it,” he said.
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