Connect with us

Star Tribune

Police video shows brief exchange of gunfire before wounded St. Paul officer fatally shoots man

Avatar

Published

on


Dashboard and body camera recordings released Tuesday show that an exchange of gunfire at a busy St. Paul intersection lasted mere seconds before a police officer who was wounded in the leg returned fire at the suspect, fatally striking him in the head.

St. Paul police released the video five days after the encounter Thursday at Cretin and Marshall avenues that resulted in the death of 24-year-old Brandon Daleshaun Keys, of Maplewood. Officer Michael Tschida was wounded after Keys fired within moments of Tschida’s arrival at the scene, striking the officer in the leg before Tschida shot Keys.

Keys died the following morning at Regions Hospital. Tschida, a 14-year law enforcement veteran, was treated and released. He was placed on administrative leave — a standard practice for officers involved in use-of-force investigations by the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA).

“In one moment we experienced an officer who was injured by gunfire in our community, and in that same moment we experienced an officer-involved shooting,” Mayor Melvin Carter said. “Trust cannot be built, cannot be established, cannot be done in the dark. Which is why transparency is such a core function.”

According to the BCA, the encounter unfolded just after 2 p.m., when a woman called 911 to report that a man she knows was violating a court order for protection against him. She said the man had a gun and was hitting her vehicle with his as she drove through St. Paul with a male passenger.

Transcript from the woman’s 911 call suggest that Keys rammed the van she was driving with his blue Impala sedan and broke her van’s windows. She told the dispatcher he was armed.

“… Oh, my god, he hit me again. Oh, he’s gonna … kill me,” transcript of the woman’s call read.

The footage showed how the shooting unfolded as soon as Tschida arrived at the scene, exited the squad and ordered Keys to the ground. Keys ducked behind a vehicle and shot at Tschida, who then returned fire. Keys, who was struck, then dropped to the ground behind the vehicle.

“Shots fired,” Tschida repeats over his police radio, taking cover behind his squad. “I’m hit.”

The woman in question then parked her van and exited, screaming and running to Keys, who was on his back on the pavement.

“Tell ’em don’t shoot, don’t shoot, please,” the woman told 911, according to call transcripts. “He’s down. No, he don’t have a gun. No please. Send an ambulance, please.”

Tschida then yelled at the woman to step away from Keys, who cannot be seen from behind the vehicle.

Bystanders also urged the woman to step away from Keys as Tschida limped toward him, picked up the gun where it lay near his feet and moved it away. The footage then ended as multiple squads arrive to the scene.

“The events that transpired on [that day] will have a lasting effect in our community, particularly to our first responders, particularly to our officers, paramedics dispatchers and our professional staff,” Police Chief Axel Henry said. “Healing is a process that takes time, patience and support. But we stand here as one community and we will do everything we can to support one another while the BCA completes this investigation.”

Keys was due in Hennepin County District Court this week for a hearing in connection with a two-year order for protection secured in October by a 38-year-old woman who shares a 5-year-old child with him, according to court records. It’s unclear whether she is the same woman involved in Thursday’s incident.

She also had an order for protection taken out in 2018, when she alleged that Keys gave her a black eye and bruises. “[He] has a history of beating me physically,” she wrote.

Keys has been convicted twice for misdemeanor domestic abuse, both times for violating an order for protection involving the same woman, court records show.

Tschida was one of four St. Paul police officers who fired their weapons in the killing of Jaffort Demont Smith on May 9, 2016.

Smith ignored orders to drop his weapon after he had shot and wounded a 49-year-old woman with him who eventually lost an eye. A grand jury ultimately issued no charges against the officers involved.

Last year, Smith’s family sued the officers and the city of St. Paul in federal court, alleging Smith’s civil rights were violated.

According to a Star Tribune database, at least 230 people have been killed in Minnesota during encounters with law enforcement.

Star Tribune staff writers Louis Krauss, Paul Walsh and Katie Galioto contributed to this report.



Read the original article

Leave your vote

Continue Reading

Star Tribune

Klobuchar criticizes White for saying ‘bad guys won in World War II’

Avatar

Published

on


The only debate between DFL U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar and GOP challenger Royce White started Sunday on the street outside WCCO Radio.

As White approached the building, he loudly called some two dozen flag-waving and cheering Klobuchar supporters a “whole lot of commies.” The 33-year-old provocateur and podcaster also told them to thank Republican former Vice President Dick Cheney — who endorsed Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris — because there was “no chance in hell” that Harris would defeat Republican former President Donald Trump on Nov. 5.

Klobuchar, 64, had arrived moments earlier, smiling and wishing “good morning” to her supporters. Once inside, the two took questions for an hour from moderator Blois Olson. Their tone was generally polite with White often interrupting a Klobuchar response with, “rebuttal,” indicated he wanted to respond.

The senator repeatedly raised White’s claims on X, formerly Twitter, that “The bad guys won in World War II” and that there were “no good guys in that war.” She called that stance offensive to veterans.

U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar arrives at WCCO Radio for a debate with Royce White in Minneapolis on Sunday, Oct. 27. (Richard Tsong-Taatarii)

Klobuchar, who is seeking a fourth six-year term, portrayed herself as a pragmatist. She opened by saying that we live in “incredibly divisive times politically” but that she has listened and worked with Republicans to bring down shipping costs, drug prices for seniors and to help veterans and push for more housing and child care.

“Courage in this next few years is not going to be standing by yourself yelling at people,” she said, her opening allusion to White’s rhetoric, which she said is often vulgar.

White, a former NBA player, is a political novice, but a close ally of Steve Bannon, the jailed former chief strategist for Trump and right wing media executive. Last summer, White won the state GOP endorsement to run against Klobuchar.

“Our country’s coming undone at the seams. I think we can change that,” White said in his opening statement. He said he threatens the status quo, decried the “permanent political class” and referred to the two major parties as the “uniparty.”



Read the original article

Leave your vote

Continue Reading

Star Tribune

Satellite images show damage from Israeli attack at 2 secretive Iranian military bases

Avatar

Published

on


Other buildings destroyed at Khojir and Parchin likely included buildings where Iran used industrial mixers to create the solid fuel needed for its extensive ballistic missile arsenal, Eveleth said.

In a statement issued immediately after the attack Saturday, the Israeli military said it targeted ”missile manufacturing facilities used to produce the missiles that Iran fired at the state of Israel over the last year.”

Destroying such sites could greatly disrupt Iran’s ability to manufacture new ballistic missiles to replenish its arsenal after the two attacks on Israel. Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, which oversees the country’s ballistic missile program, has been silent since Saturday’s attack.

Iran’s overall ballistic missile arsenal, which includes shorter-range missiles unable to reach Israel, was estimated to be ”over 3,000” by Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, then-commander of the U.S. military’s Central Command, in testimony to the U.S. Senate in 2022. In the time since, Iran has fired hundreds of the missiles in a series of attacks.

There have been no videos or photos posted to social media of missile parts or damage in civilian neighborhoods following the recent attack — suggesting that the Israeli strikes were far more accurate that Iran’s ballistic missile barrages targeting Israel in April and October. Israel relied on aircraft-fired missiles during its attack.

However, one factory appeared to have been hit in Shamsabad Industrial City, just south of Tehran near Imam Khomeini International Airport, the country’s main gateway to the outside world. Online videos of the damaged building corresponded to an address for a firm known as TIECO, which advertises itself as building advanced machinery used in Iran’s oil and gas industry.



Read the original article

Leave your vote

Continue Reading

Star Tribune

This Rochester MN school police officer used to be a narcotics cop

Avatar

Published

on


Some take him up on it and fret when he’s not around.

“It is nice to be missed and be part of the school’s culture,” Arzola said. But mostly, he added, he wants kids to know that police aren’t around just for when the bad stuff happens. He’ll hand out his stickers and bracelets, even a trading card bearing his image. Then, they’ll talk about dogs and family.

School resource officer Al Arzola talks to students in his office at John Adams Middle School in Rochester on Oct. 11. (Leila Navidi/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Two months ago, Rochester played host to a three-day training session for new SROs from across the state — an event organized by the Minnesota School Safety Center. On the final day, the 26 officers learned about surveillance challenges at the other school where Arzola works: Dakota Middle School.

It is a beautiful building with a scenic view. There is a lot of glass, too. Arzola, handling the role of instructor and tour guide, took the group outside and noted how one could look straight through the entrance to the large groups that gather inside. There were no curbs in front, either.

“There is nothing stopping any vehicle whatsoever from going through my front doors,” Arzola told the officers. “Law enforcement wasn’t talked to before this building was made. It was kind of like, ‘Here it is. You’re the SRO. Do what you do.’”

He showed them his office, too, which is separate from the main office and near those of other school support staff members. That makes sense, said Jenny Larrive, SRO coordinator for the Minnesota School Safety Center, given than SROs spend more time connecting with youth than on actual law enforcement.



Read the original article

Leave your vote

Continue Reading

Copyright © 2024 Breaking MN

Log In

Forgot password?

Forgot password?

Enter your account data and we will send you a link to reset your password.

Your password reset link appears to be invalid or expired.

Log in

Privacy Policy

Add to Collection

No Collections

Here you'll find all collections you've created before.