No charges for Duluth officer who fatally shot Zachary Shogren
DULUTH, Minn. -- An undercover police officer who shot and killed a man who allegedly charged at multiple officers with a knife in Duluth in February will not face charges.
The Cook County Attorney's Office "has found no basis for criminal charges," the St. Louis County Attorney's Office announced. Cook County had been asked to investigate the killing "to avoid any perception of or concern regarding impermissible conflict or bias."
The officer, who has not been publicly identified because of their undercover work with the Lake Superior Violent Offender Task Force, shot and killed 34-year-old Zachary Shogren on Feb. 24.
Four officers confronted Shogren in the alley behind his home and attempted to arrest him for felony threats of violence.
According to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, Shogren threatened the officers with a knife, and after a Taser and less-lethal rounds were ineffective, an officer shot Shogren. He was taken to a hospital, where he was declared dead.
"After analyzing the evidence and applicable law, the Cook County Attorney's Office has concluded that there is no basis for criminal charges against [the officer] who fired the fatal shots because the evidence is sufficient to establish that an objectively reasonable officer in their position would believe there was a threat of death or great bodily harm to another law enforcement officer," the St. Louis County Attorney's Office said.