North Branch officers who used force in shooting that left woman dead will not face charges

(Credit: North Branch Police Department)
The officer who shot and killed a woman in North Branch in June of 2024 will not face criminal charges, according to the Washington County Attorney’s Office.
Officer Duane Southworth of the North Branch Police Department, who had two years of experience at the time of the shooting, shot and killed 36-year-old Jamie Ann Crabtree on the evening of June 27, 2024, after she pointed a gun at law enforcement.
The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) previously identified North Branch Officer Kyle Miller as the other officer who used force in the altercation.
A release from the Washington County Attorney’s Office on Monday said that their review of the shooting led to the decision that no criminal charges should be filed against Officers Southworth or Miller.
As previously reported, an investigation into the shooting showed officers responded to a report of a woman, later identified as Crabtree, walking down Main Street in North Branch with a bottle of alcohol and a gun in a case.
After Crabtree refused the officers’ orders to drop the gun, Miller deployed PepperBall rounds.
Officials say that a squad car camera then showed her pointing an object at the officers, which is when Southworth fired his gun and hit Crabtree.
The body-worn camera footage then shows for more than 14 minutes officers trying to get Crabtree to not reach for the gun and to roll away from it — yelling at her dozens of times they could not help until she rolled away.
Eventually, officers are seen walking behind a squad to approach Crabtree and when they reach her, officers are seen handcuffing her and taking a photo for evidence before the video ends.
While the footage shared does not show it, according to the BCA, police provided medical aid, but she later died at Lakes Region Emergency Medical Services.
In July of 2024, 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS talked with Crabtree’s husband, who detailed her struggle with mental illness and alcohol over the last few years and his concerns with how police responded.
BCA officials recovered a handgun, a gun case and rifle cartridge casings at the scene.
“Police officers must make difficult, split-second decisions when their lives, or the lives of others, are in danger,” Washington County Attorney Kevin Magnuson said. “Many of those decisions must be made when dealing with people who are undergoing a mental health crisis and who are sometimes suicidal. When officers make the decision to use lethal force to defend themselves or others, the results can be tragic, as they were in this case.”