Judge upholds charges against Duluth police officer who shot unarmed man Officer claims he heard shots before opening fire. March 15, 2021 7:38pm Text size Copy shortlink:
DULUTH – A St. Louis County district judge denied a motion Monday asking the court to dismiss felony charges against a police officer who shot an unarmed man through an apartment door last fall.
Paul Engh, an attorney representing Duluth police officer Tyler Leibfried, had argued that the shooting was justified because Leibfried heard what sounded like gunfire coming from the unit.
The bullets struck and injured 23-year-old Jared Fyle, who told investigators the loud noise captured by officers body cameras was caused by him kicking shut and locking the door. Police had been dispatched to the apartment to respond to a call about a possible domestic violence incident in the apartment.
HIBBING â The Hibbing City Council on Wednesday unanimously approved purchasing 25 body cameras for officers to equip its police department.
Police Chief Steve Estey told the Mesabi Tribune that those numbers ensure all uniformed police officers and investigators will have a camera. The chief placed the $68,000 order including installation from the Aurora-based Rogerâs Online Corporation on Thursday.
By buying the body cameras, Hibbingâs police department â the largest on the Iron Range â becomes the latest agency to adopt the technology. Virginia Police Chief Nicole Mattson has told the Mesabi Tribune via email that her officers have had body cameras âfor two years and they are integrated with our in-car cameras.â Estey, an ex-Virginia detective, wrote in an email that his former department uses the Watchguard system and his officers will do the same.
VIRGINIA â Keith Nelson was âmore than a little ticked off.â
A St. Louis County commissioner, Nelson, of Fayal Township, spent Tuesday criticizing three of his counterparts from Duluth for sending a letter to Minnesotaâs U.S. senators and the federal nominees for the Secretary of Agriculture and Interior stating their opposition of copper-nickel mining near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and Voyageurs National Park.
The problem, he said during the latest county meeting, was that the majority of the seven-member board had long backed PolyMet and Twin Metals and just passed a resolution 4-3 expressing their support for such projects. âLetters intended to deceive should not be sent by elected officials on this board or any board or city council,â he said. âAnd that is clearly what this letter is is an attempt to deceive.â
Duluth officer s delay in shooting at issue as judge weighs bid to toss felony charges
A defense attorney said Tyler Leibfried had a right to shoot into an apartment as soon as he feared for his life, but a prosecutor argued that his decision was not reasonable after he paused and surveyed the scene. 7:02 pm, Feb. 18, 2021 ×
Tyler Leibfried
Tyler Leibfried waited roughly 10 seconds between hearing two loud bangs and firing several shots through the closed door of a downtown Duluth apartment, wounding an unarmed man inside.
That pause emerged as a central issue at a Thursday hearing on the Duluth police officer s bid to toss felony charges of intentionally and recklessly discharging a firearm in the September incident that left 23-year-old Jared Fyle with a bullet lodged in his back.