Police Union Head: DeWayne Burlingham Should Be Charged For Threatening Officers With Knife
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota's largest law enforcement union said Wednesday it wants to know why a man who threatened to kill Maple Grove officers with a large knife and was wounded in the 2018 confrontation has not been charged.
The Law Enforcement Labor Services, which represents more than 6,300 police officers, corrections officers, dispatchers and firefighters in Minnesota, believe that DeWayne Burlingham should be hauled into court.
Sean Gormley, executive director of the union, said in a release that a man who threatens officers with a knife should face "legal repercussions."
Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman announced in late 2018 that the officers were justified in shooting Burlingham because all reasonable attempts to stop him did not work. The officers fired stun guns but they were ineffective.
Freeman opted against charging Burlingham, after which time Maple Grove Police Chief Eric Werner asked for a re-examination. Freeman then asked for an opinion from prosecutors in Isanti County, who came to the same conclusion.
Burlingham, who was 50 at the time, was treated at a hospital and released. No officers were hurt.
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