Brooklyn Park police chief seeking after-action review of June 14 political shootings
MN lawmakers shooting: 1-on-1 with Brooklyn Park police chief
FOX 9's Paul Blume sat down with Brooklyn Park Police Chief Mark Bruley, amid calls to review Minnesota State Capitol security after the Minnesota lawmakers shooting.
BROOKLYN PARK, Minn. (FOX 9) - Brooklyn Park Police Chief Mark Bruley says his department and other agencies involved in the June 14 response to a pair of targeted political shootings are seeking a third-party review of law enforcement actions that weekend.
This comes as several lawmakers demanded the review of security protocols around legislators and staff safety both inside and outside the Capitol.
State senator wants independent security review
What we know:
A Minnesota state senator is calling on the Legislative Auditor’s office to review Capitol security and rapid response protocols.
Heather Gustafson (DFL-Vadnais Heights) is demanding full-after-action reports on the deadly political attacks of June 14th as well as a security breach in the Senate chamber this past weekend to better understand what is being done to protect legislators and staff.
"We need a clear-eyed, independent look at what worked, what didn’t, and how we move forward," said Sen. Gustafson, who explained that she wants a review to assess the response timelines and communication practices of relevant agencies and legislative leadership, including protocols governing notification of elected officials in the event of a threat or active danger.
"This is not about blame. It’s about learning the right lessons and putting safeguards in place to ensure no one has to question their safety while serving at the Capitol," stated Sen. Gustafson.
Brooklyn Park Police Chief responds
What they're saying:
Brooklyn Park Police Chief Mark Bruley told FOX 9 he and the leaders of other involved agencies are currently seeking a third party to assess the law enforcement response at the homes of DFL House Leader Melissa Hortman and Senator John Hoffman as well as the massive, weekend-long manhunt to capture suspect Vance Boelter.
"There is no playbook," said Bruley. "Nobody could have even conjured up that there would be a large-scale, political assassination, intending on the killing of many, many lawmakers across the entire state."
"Let's learn what we did really well and also learn where we could have made improvements. That's what we should do in this case," continued Bruley, who is also seeking an independent after-action report.
More than a month later, Bruley acknowledged, the police response wasn’t perfect. But he said, he feels very good about how law enforcement eventually captured Boelter less than 48 hours after the deadly gunfire.
"I don't know that you would ever give me a response in any critical incident where I would tell you, ‘we did it perfect,’" explained Bruley. "These are human beings wearing uniforms just like this, trying to do the best job they can. They are mothers, they are fathers. Everyone showed up that day trying to their best. And I will tell you, while it wasn't perfect, I don't know that we could do it that well again. It was done extraordinarily well."
New details emerge about June 14 attacks
Timeline:
Bruley provided a second-by-second breakdown of events during the deadly and chaotic morning of June 14. He also revealed that the initial 911 call made by Sen. Hoffman’s daughter, Hope mentioned that the shooting at the family’s Champlin home might have been an attempted robbery. Bruley said there was no indication from the outset that the suspected gunman was on a mission to target elected lawmakers.
"Many people have the belief that there was just early-on knowledge that this was a large-scale assassination attempt. And that's just not the case," said Bruley. "Actually, the call came in as a robbery. Hope [Hoffman] called it in as there was a robbery, my dad was shot, he's a senator. So, that's what officers believed that they were looking at is a person posing as a police officer conducting a robbery."
Response at Rep. Hortman’s home
The backstory:
Bruley also provided specifics about the police response at the home of Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark.
He believes responding officers reacted heroically in preventing the loss of additional lives.
"They saved lives that day," said Bruley. "There is no question that had they not thwarted this and taken away the resources of the guns, the vehicle of Mr. Boelter, that he would have absolutely killed many, many lawmakers that day."
Following the shooting at the Hoffman house, an on-duty sergeant ordered a pair of Brooklyn Park officers to check on the Hortman home. The first officer, Zachary Baumtrog, arrived at the house on Windsor Terrace at 3:34 am, about 90 minutes after Hope Hoffman had called 911.
Bruley says officer Baumtrog saw Boelter actively shooting at the front door, and the officer returned fire. Boelter pressed inside. Baumtrog heard one more burst of gunfire after repositioning himself behind a car for protection and fired again. But then nothing. Bruley says Baumtrog and his partner quickly assessed the situation.
"They start to fan out so they can assess what's at the front door, and they see a man [Mark Hortman] or an individual down in the entryway of the house," stated Bruley. "Immediately realizing that he's wounded, two of them immediately come up with a plan to go rescue him [Mark], which is part of active shooter type drills. Active shooter is trained where it's active killing or active bleeding, meaning there's actively somebody being killed and we have to go intervene, or there's actually somebody wounded where we have to go to rescue them and try to save their life. They immediately did what they were trained to do, which was go rescue that individual down and try and save his life."
Following the life-saving efforts of Mark Hortman and the arrival of additional backup to contain the scene around the house, a SWAT team deployed a drone inside. That is when a camera spotted Melissa Hortman at 4:09 am. It was determined her injuries were not survivable. Rescue teams eventually entered the house about 28 minutes later. Bruley told FOX 9 he 100% stands behind the decision of officers to remain outside until SWAT determined it was safe to enter.
"It's not always a clear-cut line," explained Bruley. "But when it is actively shooting or actively bleeding, we rush in. That is exactly what they did. When we believe it is stagnant, and we don't know that anybody's in there, there's no knowledge that anybody else is in that house. They had no knowledge."
"They chose rightfully to hold back," continued Bruley. "At no point was Mr. Boelter shooting again, was there any additional violence. And at that moment, it felt like the right decision was to fly a drone in and see if we could find what else was in the house. Maybe we found other people we had to rescue? Maybe, we found Boelter who was deceased? That was the goal was to fly the drone in to gain intelligence and that's what they did."
Potential security reviews pending
What's next:
Bruley said he is currently working with other involved law enforcement agencies to bring in a third party to assess the police response to the shootings and the subsequent manhunt.
On Monday, Legislative Auditor Judy Randall told FOX 9 her office has taken several requests, including from Sen. Gustafson, to review emergency communications and legislative security protocols following the shootings that would focus on when and how lawmakers were alerted to the potential deadly threat. Her office will determine whether it will move forward with its own special review or investigation in the coming weeks.