St. Paul officer shooting ‘legally justified’, no charges filed: RCAO

ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - A St. Paul police officer who shot and wounded a man during a sexual assault in the hallway of an apartment will not face charges from the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office.

St. Paul shooting

Background: Police responded to a 911 call about a sexual assault in progress at an apartment building on the 400 block of Thomas Avenue West on Jan. 6.

The call that came in at 12:18 a.m. said a man was physically and sexually assaulting a woman while armed with a handgun, and they could hear the woman screaming.

At the time, police said they arrived to find a man trying to exit the multi-unit apartment building through a back window. When approached from outside, he tried to go back in through the same window.

St. Paul police say the officers called the suspect out of the apartment, at which point he "charged" out of the apartment at them, and he was shot in the arm by St. Paul Police Department Officer Joshua Needham.

No charges for St. Paul officer

What we know: After reviewing the incident, the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office determined that criminal charges were not warranted, and that the use of non-lethal force was "legally justified" under Minnesota law.

As part of an investigation by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA), the victim was interviewed and admitted that he was a "dumb***" for charging at Officer Needham, and he was "completely justified to shoot" him.

A copy of the 33-page memo detailing the investigation can be found below.

The BCA investigates every incident when an officer uses force that results in injury or death.

As an independent fact finder, the BCA says it interviews witnesses, collects, analyzes, and reviews evidence to ultimately gather all the facts of a case.

The BCA then presents its findings to the county attorney for charging consideration.