9 Minneapolis officers cleared in shooting of armed man
Minneapolis Police squad cars blockade the area where a man was killed in an officer-involved shooting Sunday, Dec. 15, 2019, in the 3100 block of Thomas Avenue North.[Beth McDonough/KSTP]
Monday, Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman declined to charge nine Minneapolis police officers in the December 2019 fatal shooting of Chiasher Vue.
According to the BCA, officers were called to a home in the area of 3100 Thomas Avenue North on Dec. 15, 2019, after a 911 call about a man carrying a knife and shooting a gun inside of the home.
Authorities said several family members escaped the home unharmed, but one remained inside and wasn’t injured.
When officers arrived, they made contact with the man, later identified as 52-year-old Chiasher Fong Vue, by phone and by speaking through an interpreter. Police said officers tried to convince Vue to leave the home, but after he briefly came to the front door, he went back inside and returned to the doorway with a rifle.
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The BCA says it was reported that Vue raised the rifle to his shoulder. Investigators were not able to determine whether Vue or a police officer fired first. When Vue went down, the officers stopped shooting.
According to the BCA, Vue then sat up and brought the rifle up again, leading the officer to fire at him.
Vue was taken to the hospital where he later died.
The nine officers were later identified as Sgt. Troy Carlson and Officers Donnell Crayton, Daniel Ledman, Kyle Pond, Andrew Reed, Travis Williams, Jason Wolff, Aaron Womble and Toua Yang.
Freeman said the officers’ actions were justified because Vue escalated the situation with the firearm and that the officers "were presented with a clear threat of immediate great bodily harm or death."