Ramsey County Attorney's Office asks for help from Attorney General to review Yia Xiong case
ST. PAUL, Minn. -- The Ramsey County Attorney's Office has asked the Attorney General's Office for assistance in reviewing an investigative file from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension about the shooting death of Yia Xiong earlier this year.
Xiong, 65, was fatally shot by police in February at an apartment complex in St. Paul. Officers were called because residents said Xiong was threatening people at a children's birthday party.
Witnesses told WCCO at the time that Xiong had lunged at children in the apartment complex with a two-foot machete.
Body camera video showed an officer kick in an apartment door when Xiong tried to go inside. Then Officer Abdirahman Dahir fired his rifle when Xiong came forward still holding his knife. Officer Noushue Cha also deployed his Taser. Xiong was pronounced dead at the scene.
"He didn't speak English. He was an elderly person. He went back into his apartment, so the police had time to de-escalate the situation. He should still be alive today," said Black Lives Matter Minnesota founder Trahern Crews.
In asking Attorney General Keith Ellison to help review the case, Ramsey County Attorney John Choi said the AG "adds a layer of trust and confidence to our process."
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Some activists think Ellison's involvement may mean charges are more likely, given his prosecutions of former cops Derek Chauvin and Kim Potter. But in 2021, Ellison chose not to charge in the St. Paul police killing of Joseph Washington.
It's unclear how Choi and Ellison will split the decision in Xiong's killing.
"John Choi is a very intelligent, witty, accomplished prosecutor who can do the right thing on his own in this case," Trahern said.
The president of the St. Paul police union has said that the officers acted "heroically in the face of grave danger."
Choi's office says a charging decision could come in a few weeks.
The RCAO says, in addition to the attorney general's assistance, it has asked for help from a "nationally recognized officer use of force expert" to review the case, though did not specify who the expert is.