Star Tribune
Crookston officer who killed man in homeless shelter ID’d as same officer who killed man in May
CROOKSTON, Minn. – The Crookston police officer who shot and killed a man at a homeless shelter last week also fatally shot a man six weeks earlier, according to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.
Nick Gunner Fladland, 31, was identified by the BCA as the officer who used deadly force June 30 against Christopher Ryan Junkin, 44, of California, who died of multiple gunshot wounds at the Care and Share shelter.
“He was crying out for help, and he got killed in return,” said Junkin’s nephew Bobby Rodriguez in a phone call Wednesday from San Luis Obispo, Calif.
“I’m all for backing the blue. I respect police officers. I respect everyone who puts their life at risk for us citizens, man. This is not just, you know, F the cops situation… But the way my uncle got shot and killed like that was just totally uncalled for. It’s really hard. We’re all trying to wrap our head around it.”
Fladland, who has five years of law enforcement experience, is on critical leave. He was also placed on critical leave following the May 16 fatal shooting of Andrew Scott Dale, 35, of Crookston, while responding to reports of him wielding a hatchet.
It’s unclear how long such leave lasts, but the deadly shootings were 45 days apart. The BCA said each police department has its own leave policy and the agency deferred to Crookston police for answers. Messages on this to the department were not returned and the police chief didn’t respond to multiple interview requests.
Mayor Dale Stainbrook declined to say whether he believes Flandland should’ve been back on duty after the first shooting, or if he should remain on the force after killing two civilians.
“It was two isolated incidents. Granted, it happened within weeks of each other, but like I said, we haven’t had anything like this as long as I can remember and I grew up in this town,” Stainbrook said in a phone interview.
Rodriguez said it’s no question that Fladland returned to duty too soon and he should not be on the force.
“We truly believe [Fladland] should have never been off leave after killing that other young man, Andrew,” he said. “I don’t think he should have been back on duty within a short matter of time after taking another young man’s life dealing with a mental health crisis.”
The BCA said in a news release that Fladland first deployed his Taser before firing his department handgun.
Officer Corey Rich, with two years of experience, and Polk County deputy April Hansen also deployed Tasers. Hansen has 14 years experience, according to the BCA, and she also used a chemical irritant.
Law enforcement responded to reports of men allegedly fighting at a homeless shelter. When they arrived, the BCA said they made contact with Junkin, who was allegedly breaking items inside the shelter. Junkin ignored their verbal commands and followed officers as they backed down a hallway, the BCA said.
But Junkin’s roommate at the shelter, Robert Fox, told Valley News Live that he disputes the police account of the incident. Fox said he told officers: “This is a mental health issue, it’s not a fight, I don’t want to press charges,” the Fargo TV station reported.
The officers and deputies were wearing body cameras that captured portions of the incident. The BCA is reviewing this footage as part of an ongoing investigation.
Rodriguez said Junkin’s family viewed the body camera video and he doesn’t believes the shooting was justified. He said his uncle was naked, unarmed and in crisis.
“My uncle didn’t do anything to those officers for his life to be taken,” he said.
Junkin, a father of four was a father figure to Rodriguez. He said his uncle moved to Minnesota for a girl, spent some time living in Minneapolis and fell on hard times in Crookston. The family didn’t know he was living at the shelter because Rodriguez said Junkin’s wasn’t one to ask for help — he helped others.
In April, Junkin was charged with first-degree damage to property in Hennepin County. According to the charges, he was at the Mall of America in Bloomington on July 24, 2023 when surveillance shows him throwing a planter over the fourth floor balcony. Junkin is accused of trying to force entry into a closed restaurant and causing nearly $5,000 in damage to the door.
He has no other criminal history in Minnesota, but there are two civil cases involving him and another woman who filed a harassment and domestic abuse restraining order against Junkin last year.
As for the May 16 fatal shooting of Dale, Police Chief Darin Selzler said Dale “rapidly approached” police, who initially used less-lethal measures to stop him.
Two police officers and a Polk County sheriff’s deputy fired at Dale after responding to a 911 call. Officers encountered him swinging a hatchet in the streets shortly before 1 a.m. in a residential area near the Polk County Government Center.
The BCA said officer Alex Rudnik first deployed his Taser and deputy Matt Benge fired 40-millimeter foam rounds. Fladland fired his department handgun, striking Dale several times.
Junkin’s family started an online fundraiser to help cover costs of cremation and to bring him back home to California.
“He always had a big heart and gave the best bear hugs,” wrote niece Amanda Elliott. “He will truly be missed. We, as a family, just want to bring Chris home.”
Star Tribune staff writers Paul Walsh and Louie Krauss contributed to this story.
Northern State 35, Concordia (St. Paul) 34: Wyatt Block’s 2-yard TD run and the PAT with 10 seconds remaining lifted the Wolves past the host Golden Bears. Block’s touchdown capped an 11-play, 72-yard drive by the Wolves, who trailed 24-7 in the second quarter. Jeff Isotalo-McGuire’s 34-yard field goal with three minutes, 32 seconds remaining gave the Golden Bears a 34-28 lead.
Winona State 31, Bemidji State 28: Cade Stenstrom rushed for two TDs and passed for 150 yards and a TD to help the host Warriors outlast the Beavers. Stenstrom’s 1-yard TD run and the PAT with two minutes, 10 seconds remaining gave the Warriors a 31-21 lead. The Beavers responded with an 11-play, 93-yard drive to pull within 31-28 with 18 seconds remaining but the Warriors recovered the ensuing kickoff.
Div. I-AA
North Dakota State 59, Murray State 6: The top-ranked Bison built a 42-3 lead in the first half and went on to defeat the host Racers in Murray, Ken. CharMar Brown ran for 97 yards and three TDs for the Bison.
South Dakota State 20, South Dakota 17 (OT): Amar Johnson’s 3-yard TD run in overtime lifted the host Jackrabbits to the victory. The Coyotes opened the OT with a 40-yard field goal.
Youngstown State 41, North Dakota 40 (OT): The host Penguins went first in OT and scored and then stopped North Dakota’s two-point conversion to hold on for the victory. The Penguins sent the game into OT on a 35-yard field goal with 12 seconds remaining.
Div. III
Augsburg 35, St. Olaf 34 (OT): The host Auggies stopped a two-point conversion in overtime to outlast the Oles. The Auggies went first in the overtime and scored on a 25-yard pass from Ryan Harvey to Tyrone Wilson. It was Harvey’s fifth TD pass — the fourth to Wilson. After the Auggies’ PAT, the Oles scored on a 25-yard TD pass from Theo Doran to Braden Menz. But the Oles’ pass attempt for the conversion failed.
After splitting their two-game West Coast trip to begin the season, the Wolves improved to 2-1 with a 112-101 win over Toronto in their home opener. It was a wire-to-wire win that featured some strong bursts of play from the Wolves and other times when their decision-making was suspect. But those moments when they were on, specifically the start of the game and most of the third quarter, were enough to carry them against a shorthanded Raptors team that was without RJ Barrett, Bruce Brown and Immanuel Quickley.
Julius Randle had 24 points while Anthony Edwards had 24 on 21 shot attempts. Donte DiVincenzo had 16 off the bench. Nickeil Alexander-Walker left the game in the fourth quarter and did not return, though he was in the bench area for the final minutes after going to the locker room briefly.
The Wolves’ starting lineup had its best stretch of basketball on the season after that unit started off sluggish in the first two games. Mike Conley, who was 3-for-16 to open the year, hit two early threes to set the tone, though Conley would finish 2-for-8.
Donte DiVincenzo replaced him at point guard halfway through the quarter and continued the hot shooting from the point guard slot with three threes of his own. The Wolves forced five Toronto turnovers and had a 32-18 lead after one.
Coach Chris Finch toyed with some different lineup combinations in the first half as he had Conley and DiVincenzo begin the quarter together while having Joe Ingles run the point later in the quarter. It led to an uneven second, and the Wolves led 56-44 at halftime.
But the Wolves played inspired coming out of the break. Jaden McDaniels, who didn’t take a shot in the first half, had nine points in the opening minutes of the third. Edwards hit a pair of threes as they pushed their lead to 22. The Wolves weren’t sharp closing the night, and the Raptors had the game within right inside of two minutes, but the Wolves had built enough of a cushion.
Rudy Gobert. Gobert had 15 points and 13 rebounds and was the beneficiary of some lobs from his teammates like Edwards, Conley, Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Joe Ingles. Gobert also finished with four blocks.
Gobert had two blocks on one possession in the fourth quarter that got the crowd off its feet and Gobert pounding his chest. Gobert blocked D.J. Carton and Jamison Battle.
Star Tribune
Trump denigrates Detroit while appealing for votes in a suburb of Michigan’s largest city
NOVI, Mich. — Donald Trump further denigrated Detroit while appealing for votes Saturday in a suburb of the largest city in swing state Michigan.
”I think Detroit and some of our areas makes us a developing nation,” the former president told supporters in Novi. He said people want him to say Detroit is ”great,” but he thinks it ”needs help.”
The Republican nominee for the White House had told an economic group in Detroit earlier this month that the ”whole country will end up being like Detroit” if Democrat Kamala Harris wins the presidency. That comment drew harsh criticism from Democrats who praised the city for its recent drop in crime and growing population.
Trump’s stop in Novi, after an event Friday night in Traverse City, is a sign of Michigan’s importance in the tight race. Harris is scheduled for a rally in Kalamazoo later Saturday with former first lady Michelle Obama on the first day that early in-person voting becomes available across Michigan. More than 1.4 million ballots have already been submitted, representing 20% of registered voters. Trump won the state in 2016, but Democrat Joe Biden carried it four years later.
Michigan is home to major car companies and the nation’s largest concentration of members of the United Auto Workers. It also has a significant Arab American population, and many have been frustrated by the Biden administration’s support for Israel’s offensive in Gaza after the attack by Hamas against Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
During his rally, Trump spotlighted local Muslim and Arab American leaders who joined him on stage. These voters ”could turn the election one way or the other,” Trump said, adding that he was banking on ”overwhelming support” from those voters in Michigan.
“When President Trump was president, it was peace,” said one of those leaders, Mayor Bill Bazzi of Dearborn Heights. ”We didn’t have any issues. There was no wars.”
While Trump is trying to capitalize on the community’s frustration with the Democratic administration, he has a history of policies hostile to this group, including a travel ban targeting Muslim countries while in office and a pledge to expand it to include refugees from Gaza if he wins on Nov. 5.
