Star Tribune
6 months in jail for man shot by Minnesota deputies while resisting arrest
A man who was shot and wounded by sheriff’s deputies in east-central Minnesota while resisting arrest received a six-month jail term Friday.
Leo H. Hacker, 71, was sentenced in Pine County District Court in connection with his guilty plea in two cases of assault, and obstructing and fleeing law enforcement in connection with his clashes with deputies in February 2023.
Hacker’s sentences will be served concurrently and includes Judge Jason Steffen setting aside a three-year sentence sought by the County Attorney’s Office. Steffen’s terms also include five years’ probation and community work service.
According to the charges in each case and related court documents:
On Feb. 21, deputies tried to pull over Hacker’s pickup truck on a gravel road about a mile from his Pine City home. As two deputies approached his vehicle, he drove toward them. Both deputies opened fire on Hacker and wounded him.
Hacker was wanted at the time on charges of second-degree assault and obstructing law enforcement in connection with allegations that he pointed a gun at a deputy outside his home on Feb. 14 and angrily defied orders to drop the weapon.
At one point, Hacker warned the deputies that if they did not leave, he would return with “something bigger,” the charges quoted him as saying.
The deputy was there to seize Hacker’s SUV stemming from a dispute over his unpaid attorney fees, the charges read. However, law enforcement outside the home “determined that based on the totality of circumstances, it was in the interest of safety to leave the scene at that time” and instead seek a warrant for Hacker’s arrest, the criminal complaint continued.
Hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters marched in Minneapolis on Sunday as part of worldwide demonstrations on the eve of the one-year anniversary of the Israel-Hamas war. The protests come as Israel has intensified its airstrikes in northern Gaza and southern Lebanon.
Protesters in Minneapolis carried signs depicting the flag of Palestine as they marched through the city streets. The demonstration was organized by American Muslims for Palestine-Minnesota. Across the world, pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli protests and memorial events took place Sunday in Berlin, London and elsewhere.
Monday will mark a year since Hamas-led militants killed 1,200 people in Israel and took another 250 hostage in a surprise attack that shocked the world. Since then Israeli forces have staged an aggressive assault of the Gaza Strip that has left more than 41,000 Palestinians dead, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
A National Park Service ranger died on Sunday as he tried to rescue a family who had become stranded on an island in Voyageurs National Park.
St. Louis County Sheriff Gordon Ramsay said in a phone call that the ranger was attempting to rescue a father and his two children and encountered dangerous conditions on Namakan Lake. Strong winds whipped up waves that reached between 5 and 6 feet.
“The boat flipped in the waves,” Ramsay said, and the ranger, a sworn law enforcement officer, died. The family survived the incident.
“Our hearts go out to our National Park Service rangers and their loss as well as the ranger who died in the line of duty today,” he added.
Ramsay said he did not know the exact time of the attempted rescue, and said a statement would be sent out shortly with more details on the incident.
Photos: Pro-Palestinian activists march in Minneapolis
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