Police Provide Update After Deadly Rochester Police Shooting
BY MN CRIME STAFF
A man died after a Rochester police officer shot him during a confrontation inside an apartment Wednesday night after authorities say he grabbed an officer’s gun.
The shooting happened at about 9:30 p.m. Wednesday at an apartment along the 1900 block of Ashland Drive Northwest in Rochester.
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Rochester police say officers were dispatched to the apartment for a domestic call involving a man who was reportedly threatening children inside the residence. Officers arrived along with a social worker from the department’s Crisis Response Team and began speaking with the man, who authorities said was experiencing a mental health crisis.
Police said officers determined the man posed a threat to himself and others and attempted to place him on a 72-hour emergency hold so he could be transported to a hospital for evaluation.
According to police, the situation escalated when officers attempted to take the man into custody. A struggle followed, and investigators say the man grabbed one of the officer’s firearms during the confrontation and fired it.
PREVIOUSLY: Rochester Officer Fatally Shoots Man Who Grabbed Cop's Gun
Another officer then fired his weapon, striking the man.
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Officers and first responders immediately began providing lifesaving care before the man was taken to Mayo Clinic Saint Marys hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
No officers or other people were injured during the incident.
Rochester Police Chief Jim Franklin discussed the shooting during a press conference Thursday afternoon, saying the man had become “increasingly agitated” during the encounter and posed an immediate threat to others at the scene.
Franklin said the officers involved in the shooting have been placed on critical incident leave, which he described as standard procedure following a deadly use-of-force incident.
Investigators also confirmed that officers were wearing body-worn cameras during the encounter.
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is now leading the investigation into the shooting, which is standard in officer-involved shootings across the state.
Authorities have not yet released the identity of the man who was shot.
The shooting happened at about 9:30 p.m. Wednesday at an apartment along the 1900 block of Ashland Drive Northwest in Rochester.