Minnetonka Cops Cleared Of Wrongdoing In Fatal Shooting
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A Hennepin County grand jury has cleared two Minnetonka Police officers of any wrongdoing in the fatal shooting of a 27-year-old man in October of last year, according to Minnetonka city officials.
Officers James Comings and Ryan Smith shot Michael Tray several times in the underground parking garage of the Claremont Apartments in Minnetonka on the evening of Oct. 23, 2013.
Police were initially called on a report of a man with a gun near the apartments. When the officers arrived, they found Tray in the parking garage. Shots were fired, and Tray was killed.
Tray did not have a criminal record, and his friends say he was a non-violent. Tray's stepfather said Tray had found a .44 Magnum revolver while fixing up his late father's home in Iowa. He said Tray didn't want to leave it there when he came to Minnetonka to visit his girlfriend due to a rash of burglaries in the area.
Minnetonka Police Chief Mark Raquet says a call resulting in a fatality is a scenario that no police officer wants.
"While we've always believed our officers acted appropriately, we know that the grand jury decision doesn't relieve the anguish of the family of Michael Tray," Raquet said.
Both officers joined Minnetonka Police in 2012, and neither has had any precious disciplinary action or complaints against them.