Call On Suicidal Man In Stillwater Ends In Fatal Police Shooting
STILLWATER, Minn. (WCCO) -- Stillwater police are under investigation for their response during a call for help.
Wednesday night, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is looking into why an officer fatally shot a suicidal man.
Police were called to the 1200 block of 4th Street South at about 1 a.m. Wednesday. They say a man was holding a knife and one officer used an electroshock weapon on him. But then another officer shot him. That man died at the hospital.
Neighbors came by the Stillwater home to leave flowers Wednesday. Jenny Hanlon lives next door to where the shooting happened.
"I peeked outside the window and I saw police around a body on the ground," Hanlon said. "I heard what sounded like gunshots and heard the dog run up scared to the top of the house."
Authorities have not yet released the name of the victim, but a close family friend told WCCO the family is close and very loving. The victim was taken to the hospital, but later died.
Early Wednesday evening, the BCA released the names of the four officers involved:
It marks the third fatal police shooting in the Twin Cities metro in three weeks. The other two happened in Minneapolis and Shakopee.
Police were wearing body cameras when the shooting happened. The BCA will be taking over to do an independent investigation.
We looked into how often Minnesota police were using deadly force on calls. Over the past five years, the Minnesota Department of Public Safety says police have fatally shot 52 people.
Last year, the use of deadly force resulted in 10 deaths. In the two years before that, 13 people died in officer-involved shootings. This year's statistics are still being collected.
During that same time frame, three members of Minnesota's law enforcement were killed in the line of duty. And two corrections officers died this year.
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