No charges for St. Paul officers in fatal Dayton's Bluff shooting
ST. PAUL, Minn. (KMSP) - Ramsey County Attorney John Choi announced Friday he will not file criminal charges against the police officers involved in the fatal officer-involved shooting of a man in St. Paul, Minnesota last March.
On March 15, Officers Mikko Norman and Nathaniel Younce were responding to a domestic violence call involving shots fired inside an apartment on the 700 block of East 6th Street in the Dayton's Bluff neighborhood. There, they encountered a man from the incident, later identified as 29-year-old Cordale Quinn Handy, and eventually fired on him.
According to Choi's recommendation memorandum, Handy did not appear to be sober. He had a gun, which was later revealed to be stolen, and raised it toward the officers. They asked him to drop the weapon, but he raised it again and pointed it directly at one of the officers.
The officers then fired three to four shots, fatally wounding Handy.
Video of the incident from a nearby building shows Handy holding a gun, but the rest of the situation happened off-camera. Norman and Younce were not wearing body cameras.
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension led the investigation into the fatal officer-involved shooting.
After reviewing the case, Choi and his staff determined the use of deadly force by Officers Norman and Younce was justified.
Statement from St. Paul Police Chief Todd Axtell:
What happened on Wednesday, March 15, is a tragedy.
My heart goes out to the Handy family, who has lost a loved one. I also feel for the officers who ran towards danger, had a stolen gun pointed at them and were forced to take action. They did not choose the situation; the situation chose them.
And their lives have been forever changed.
The investigation revealed evidence that shows the violence, terror and danger endured by those in the apartment building and neighborhood during the minutes that preceded the incident. Sixteen shots were fired inside the apartment. Lives were put at risk. Officers showed incredible restraint, giving Mr. Handy multiple opportunities to drop his weapon.
And even then, he made the decision to point his gun at them.
While the investigation clearly shows that our officers did everything they could to pursue a different outcome, I take no solace in the fact that our officers were put in such a dangerous position and a man lost his life.