Bemidji veteran dies after stopping truck theft in Minneapolis
A Bemidji native and Army medic died after confronting a pickup theft outside a south Minneapolis veterans nonprofit, leaving a memorial at Rick’s Coffee Bar.
Amos Ferrier, who grew up in Bemidji and attended Bemidji High School, died Sunday, May 18, two days after he was badly hurt while trying to stop his pickup truck from being stolen outside Rick’s Coffee Bar in south Minneapolis.
Ferrier, 38, was at Every Third Saturday for a Warriors Return graduation ceremony around 1:35 p.m. Friday, May 15, when he saw two people trying to take his truck from the 5400 block of 43rd Avenue South in the Nokomis East neighborhood. Police said Ferrier confronted the suspects, ended up on the hood of their vehicle, and was thrown off as the driver moved evasively. He struck his head on the pavement and later died at Hennepin County Medical Center. Minneapolis police classified the case as a homicide.
Police said two women, ages 18 and 19, were arrested in St. Paul on Tuesday, May 19, and booked into Hennepin County Jail in connection with the death. Ferrier would have turned 39 on Tuesday, May 20. The case is believed to be the first death tied to a car theft in Minneapolis in 2026, a grim marker for a city already dealing with persistent vehicle theft.
Ferrier had worked as internship director for Every Third Saturday, the veteran-run nonprofit that operates Rick’s Coffee Bar. The organization said he served as an Army medic for 15 years. Fox 9 reported he completed two tours in Afghanistan and was credited with saving multiple lives. Friends and coworkers remembered him as a humorous and generous presence who helped other veterans adjust to life after combat and build job skills.
A makeshift memorial grew outside Rick’s Coffee Bar after his death, a sign of how deeply Ferrier’s loss hit the military and recovery community he served. Minneapolis police Chief Brian O’Hara said the loss to Ferrier’s family and loved ones could not be undone, though the arrests may bring some measure of hope for justice. For Bemidji, the killing cut close to home: Ferrier’s years of service, his ties to the community, and his final act of trying to protect his own truck collided in a matter of seconds.
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