Senator's Son Sentenced to 28 Years in Prison

The son of a North Dakota Republican senator was sentenced on Monday to nearly 30 years in prison for the death of a sheriff’s deputy during a high-speed chase last December.

Ian Cramer, 43, the son of Senator Kevin Cramer, was driving his parents’ SUV when it collided with a deputy’s patrol vehicle on December 6, 2023, according to multiple reports.

Deputy Paul Martin, 53, of Mercer County, was deploying stop sticks in an attempt to stop Cramer’s vehicle. Tragically, Martin was struck by the patrol car and later died from his injuries.

The chase began after Ian Cramer fled from a hospital ambulance bay, where his mother had brought him for treatment of hallucinations, as reported by the New York Post.

“Court documents say he crawled into the driver seat of his parents’ vehicle after his mother got out and smashed in reverse through the closed garage door of the hospital’s ambulance bay,” according to The Associated Press.

The high-speed pursuit that followed saw Cramer reaching speeds over 100 mph, even continuing after law enforcement devices deflated two of his tires. He was attempting to evade additional stop sticks when his vehicle struck Martin’s patrol car, the AP noted.

Senator Kevin Cramer and his wife explained that their son had long struggled with mental health issues worsened by substance abuse. On the day of the crash, Ian Cramer admitted to using methamphetamine and bath salts, the AP reported.

In September, Ian Cramer pleaded guilty to nine charges, including homicide while fleeing a peace officer, reckless endangerment, and drug possession, according to NBC News.

During his sentencing hearing on Monday, Cramer addressed Deputy Martin’s family with an apology, the AP reported.

“I had no intention to do any of this. It was an accident, and I just hope that someday they can forgive me, and I think the best thing for me is to go to a hospital and just get more help,” he said.

Judge Bobbi Weiler sentenced Cramer to 28 years in prison but suggested he might not serve the full term.

“The (state) Department of Corrections has their own policy on how much time you’re going to serve,” Weiler said, according to the AP.

“These are not mandatory minimums, which means that you’re probably going to serve a small portion of that 28 years and be out on parole, so that’ll … give you an opportunity to have a second chance that Deputy Martin does not have, nor does his family have.”

Following the sentencing, Senator Kevin Cramer expressed disappointment about how the court and prosecution handled his son’s mental health issues.

“I was somewhat disappointed that mental health is so casually dismissed both by the court and by the prosecutor,” he said.

Nevertheless, the senator acknowledged his son’s accountability for the devastating incident.

“But I don’t think there’s any question there’s not one person, including Ian, who doesn’t know that they were his choices that led to this, whatever they may be, under whatever condition, choices that go back many years,” he stated.

Kevin Cramer, who first won election to the Senate in 2018 by defeating Democrat Heidi Heitkamp, was re-elected in November.

A vocal supporter of President-elect Donald Trump, the senator has been an outspoken critic of taxpayer-funded National Public Radio. However, he broke ranks with other Senate Republicans in February by supporting the controversial Ukraine aid package.