Law enforcement officers in Rochester and Olmsted County have fired their weapons at suspects in a small number of cases in recent years, but only once before this week has a suspect been killed by an officer's gunfire.
On Monday, an Olmsted County sheriff's deputy shot David Dean Paquin, 33, no permanent address, after Paquin attacked the deputy, who had pulled him over. Paquin was a suspect in a bank robbery.
The previous time was in 2003, when former Olmsted County deputy Jason Christensen was serving a warrant in Stewartville. Christensen was shot during an exchange of gunfire that killed Calvin Clarence Barrett, 43. Christensen was trying to arrest Barrett on a warrant issued in connection with a child protection case. That shooting was also investigated by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and reviewed by the Winona County Attorney's office. The Winona County Attorney said Christensen's actions were "reasoned and reasonable and fell within allowable use of lethal force when an officer is confronted with lethal force."
Authorities said the shooting Monday night involved a man suspected of being involved in the Sept. 1 robbery of Peoples State Bank in Elgin. A man went into that bank and handed the clerk a note, saying he had a weapon. No weapons were shown. The man fled on foot.
On Monday night, an Olmsted County sheriff deputy made a traffic stop in the 4100 block of West Circle Drive in Rochester. A man believed to be a suspect in the bank robbery ran from the car and was pursued by the deputy with his police dog. Authorities said the suspect attacked the deputy, who fired his gun once, killing the suspect, who has not been identified.
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Here are some of the other officer-involved shootings in recent years:
• 1998. A Rochester police sergeant used his handgun to smash a window of a suspect's vehicle when the driver failed to obey commands to get out in an alley near Saint Marys Hospital. The officer's gun discharged and struck the man in the mouth. The man survived. Investigating agencies concluded the officer acted reasonably and that the shooting was accidental.
• 2002. Rochester police were called to northwest Rochester by a relative of Christofar Atak, saying he was drunk and broke furniture before leaving an apartment. Authorities said Atak leaped in front of a squad car and yelled that he wanted to die. An officer said he grabbed his Taser to help another officer subdue Atak. Instead, the officer grabbed his handgun and shot Atak in the back. The shooting was investigated by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and reviewed by the Ramsey County Attorney's office and the Olmsted County grand jury. All said it was an accident. Atak sued in U.S. District Court. The lawsuit was settled for $900,000 in favor of Atak.
An internal police review led to a change in policy; officers now wear their Tasers and guns on opposite sides of their gun belts. Also, the Tasers are colored bright yellow, rather than the same color as duty weapons.
• 2005.A city police officer, working with narcotics investigators, fired her gun during a December drug raid at a Stewartville residence, injuring an Iowa woman. Three months later, Olmsted County attorney Ray Schmitz said the shooting investigation was closed and the shooting was ruled an accident.
• 2006.A Rochester police officer fired shots to get a fleeing vehicle to stop after being dragged a short distance. The suspect, a 28-year-old Mazeppa man, was not hit by the bullets, and was charged with multiple criminal counts for the March incident. A Dakota County prosecutor who reviewed incident reports said the officer was "fully justified" in firing the shots.
• 2006.Several Rochester police officers were involved in an October incident in the parking lot of the former Aquarius Club where a 16-year-old boy used his car to ram squad cars and private vehicles. Several officers fired their weapons. In all, officers fired 12 rounds at the suspect's vehicle to try to stop the car. The teen got away in the car and drove through a residential neighborhood with officers in pursuit. The teen drove into a yard, nearly hitting a house. An officer fired two rounds at the vehicle there. The teen was finally stopped at Rose Drive when a squad car rammed into his car.
• 2007.A 26-year-old Owatonna man was shot in the shoulder by a Rochester police officer in January when he failed to comply with orders to get out of his vehicle on outstanding warrants. The shooting occurred in the Barclay Square parking lot. The Owatonna man then put his car in reverse and fled, leading to a pursuit through the city before being caught.
