Minneapolis police shoot man who tried to cut own throat in interview room, officials say
MINNEAPOLIS -- A man who was alone in an interview room at the Minneapolis police investigative unit in City Hall was shot by officers on Monday after he pulled out an "edged weapon" and began cutting his own throat, according to police and union officials. The incident happened Monday in an interview room at the Minneapolis Police Department, which is inside City Hall.
Sources tell CBS affiliate WCCO the weapon was a concealed knife. Police Chief Medaria Arradondo said Monday that officers attempted to subdue the man after he began hurting himself. The man reportedly lunged at officers before they opened fire.
The wounded man was taken to a hospital. His condition wasn't immediately known.
The head of the Minneapolis police officers' union said Tuesday that the officers were "heroic" in shooting the man and that they were trying to stop him from taking his own life.
Union president Bob Kroll said Tuesday that video of the incident will show the officers tried to deescalate the situation before shooting.
"The officers, not only did they not take a life, they saved a life," he said. "It's nothing short of heroic."
The shooting is being investigated by the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, which investigates most police shootings in the state. The BCA said it would provide additional information, including the names of the officers who fired their weapons, after initial interviews are completed. Several officers have been placed on leave.
While Kroll declined to talk about details of the shooting itself because of that investigation, he said the man had just confessed to a shooting and an investigator left the interview room to go get him water. The investigator returned to find the man harming himself with a knife.
Kroll said the man was cutting his own throat.
"This was a very gruesome scene," Kroll said. "Veteran officers, very experienced officers, were very shaken after all of this."
Kroll said he hopes the video is released as soon as possible so the public will understand what happened. He estimated officers tried to deescalate the situation for about 10 minutes before they had to make a decision.
"They were going to lose him if they didn't intervene," he said. "This guy was set on taking his own life, no mistake about it."
Arradondo said police were investigating how the man got a weapon into the interview room.
