It is fairly easy to see the article is not credible and is obviously biased.
1. He was not an armed robbery suspect. He was stopped because he may have resembled the person in the BOLO.
2. The cop probably did tell them he pulled them over for a broken tail light in order to set them at ease. He certainly would not say "I pulled you over because you might be an armed robber."
3. The firearm was not resting on his thigh. It was in his holster. The square black object is his wallet which he had just retrieved from his hip pocket.
4. Just because the sheriff said he did not issue a CCW licence to him does not mean he did not have one. Minnesota honors non-resident permits from Idaho, Illinois, Kentucky, New Jersey, North Dakota, Ohio, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Tennessee.
5. A Ruger target pistol used in the robbery looks like his wallet? Really?
The article is so poorly researched that it is effectively useless.