[4][5] Leneal Frazier's death occurred during a period of prolonged, local unrest over racial injustice and police brutality and when Minneapolis was experiencing a surge in crimes such as carjackings and thefts, which led to more intensive law enforcement actions.

[1][6][7] An attorney for Leneal Frazier's family argued that his death was the result of systemic racism due to the aggressive tactics police use in Black communities.

[17] One month before the fatal pursuit that led to Frazier's death, Cummings conducted a chase on North Second Street at speeds of 102 miles per hour (164 km/h) for which he did not receive negative feedback from his supervisors.

[5] In Hennepin County, Minnesota, the jurisdiction that includes the City of Minneapolis, police pursuits between 2013 and 2020 had resulted in 40 fatalities, according to local court records.

[18] In the aftermath of the initial George Floyd protests in mid 2020, Minneapolis experienced an increase in violent crimes,[19][20][21][22][23] including carjackings,[1] leading to more intensive law enforcement efforts to apprehend criminal suspects despite a shortage of police officers.

[8] Police spokesman John Elder, however, said in response that officer was pursuing an armed robbery suspect and that the situation fit the department's criteria to initiate a pursuit.

[18][34][27] The Minneapolis Police Department updated its policy and procedural manual and listed robbery among the 11 different crimes officers could initiate pursuit if necessary.

"[3][32][36] Frazier family attorney Jeff Storms said, “When someone says this isn’t about race, that’s ignoring the various systematic race issues that are at play here — how law enforcement polices Black communities, the aggression with which law enforcement polices in particular our Black brothers and sisters.”[8] Minneapolis NAACP president Angela Rose Myers said, “It doesn’t matter if words change if the policy and people’s practice is not actually changed.” Several vigils were held for Frazier that also called for justice over his death.

[9] On July 7, 2021, two days after the fatal car crash, a group of approximately 40 people who were mourning the death of Frazier blocked vehicular traffic to the street intersection where he was killed.

[33] The Minnesota State Patrol investigated the incident[5] and presented its findings to the Hennepin County Attorney's office,[13] which determined that the injuries Frazier sustained as a result of the crash were the cause of his death.

[28] In the criminal compliant, prosecutors said Cummings operated his vehicle negligently when chase speeds approached 100 miles per hour (160 km/h) in a residential neighborhood.

[14] Cummings' employment with the police department ended the day he was charged, but it was unclear in media sources if he was fired or if he left the force voluntarily.

[1][42] In charging documents, prosecutors alleged that the suspect, a 20-year old man, had stolen the Kia vehicle from a woman at the Target store on East Lake Street three days before the fatal crash and that he was responsible for a string of four business robberies leading up to the police chase.

[12] The suspect's accomplice faced charges for vehicle theft and robbery, but had a plea deal rejected by a Hennepin County judge in late 2023.