On December 8, 2025, a licensed peace officer with the Rochester Police Department was on duty at Saint Mary's Hospital in the County of Olmsted. As he walked through a mental-health section of the hospital, he heard a staff member yell, "Gun!" Then a patient, Charles William Quackenbush, ran from his room and reached for the officer's firearm on his right hip. The officer swatted Quackenbush's arm away and pushed him to the ground. Officers spoke with the nurse who had yelled "Gun!" She had been treating Quackenbush in his room, and he became distressed because hospital staff had told him he would not have access to firearms.
When he saw an armed officer, he said, "They lied to me." He then lunged out the door, reaching for the officer's pistol. After the incident, Quackenbush told the nurse that he wished he had struck the officer in the kidney first to subdue him before taking the firearm. An investigator retrieved surveillance video of the incident. It shows the officer standing in the hallway with his back to Quackenbush's door. His firearm can be seen prominently on his right hip. Quackenbush suddenly emerges from his room.
His arm extends toward the officer's hips. The officer spins to his right and knocks Quackenbush's hand away. He then pushes Quackenbush, who loses his footing and falls to the floor. PLEASE TAKE NOTICE: YOU MUST APPEAR FOR EVERY COURT HEARING REGARDING THIS CASE. FAILURE TO APPEAR FOR COURT IS A CRIMINAL OFFENSE AND MAY RESULT IN ADDITIONAL CRIMINAL CHARGES BEING IMPOSED AND PUNISHED AS PROVIDED IN MINNESOTA STATUTES SECTION 609.49.
