ACLU-MN Calls For Reform Following Mankato Police Shooting
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – The American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota is calling for transparency and law enforcement reform following the fatal police shooting of a Shakopee teacher.
Chase Tuseth, 33, was shot and killed last weekend by a Mankato police officer after he allegedly fought back during an arrest for disorderly conduct. The officer that shot him was identified as Gary Schnorenberg, a 30-year veteran of the Mankato Police Department.
The ACLU-MN says that Tuseth's death on New Year's Eve marked the 14th and final fatal police shooting of 2016. The civil rights group says that while police officers have an often difficult job, there needs to be more emphasis on de-escalating situations.
"As a society we cannot allow people to be killed by the police for being disorderly, or drunk, or for having a broken taillight," said ACLU-MN executive director Charles Samuelson, in a statement. "None of these crimes would warrant a death sentence in any state, let alone in Minnesota where we don't even have the death penalty."
Tuseth's death is currently under investigation by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. The ACLU-MN is urging the agency to be transparent in its investigation and release any footage it's obtained of the shooting.
Tuseth was a biology teacher at Tokata Learning Center, an alternative school in Shakopee. His funeral is slated for Saturday.