Charges Declined In St. Paul Officers' Fatal Shooting Of Illinois Man
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The Ramsey County Attorney's Office has declined to file criminal charges in an officer-involved shooting that resulted in the death of a 29-year-old Illinois man in March.
On Friday, Ramsey County Attorney John Choi said use of deadly force by Officers Mikko Norman and Nathaniel Younce was justified in the March 15 incident.
Cordale Handy, 29, was from Illinois. Police shot and killed him on March 15. They were responding to a domestic incident and say Handy pointed a gun at officers before they opened fire.
"Both officers repeatedly ordered Mr. Handy to drop his gun. Instead, Mr. Handy did not comply and pointed his gun a second time at Officer Norman, at which time both officers fired their weapons fatally wounding him," Choi said. "While it is true that information was presented to the officers that Mr. Handy's gun may have been unloaded, it would be unreasonable for anyone to expect and incredibly dangerous for the officers to presume that was true under these facts and circumstances."
In April, Handy's family said the shooting was unjustified, and filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the city and the officers.
The suit also alleges that the officers violated Handy's constitutional rights to due process and his right against unreasonable seizure.