Seconds after a St. Paul police officer exited his squad automotive, a person ducked behind a automotive before shooting on the officer and the officer fired back, videos released by the police department Tuesday show.
Officer Michael Tschida was shot and wounded in his leg. The officer shot Brandon Daleshaun Keys, 24, in the pinnacle and he died on the hospital early Friday.
A 911 transcript, together with Tschida’s body-worn and squad dash cameras, show a lady’s desperate call for help and the intensity of the situation on a busy street in town’s Merriam Park neighborhood.
The lady called 911 Thursday afternoon and reported the daddy of her child was chasing her, that she had a current order for cover against him, and that he had a gun.
“He just hit my automotive,” the girl reported, saying they were in separate vehicles. “… Oh my God. Please, I want help. … I’m attempting to get away from him.”
She reported he “just busted my windshield” and a male could possibly be heard saying, “Open the door,” the 911 transcript shows.
“I’m not calling the police,” the girl said and the person replied, “I just saw you.”
“Brandon, I’m not,” the transcript continued.
She reported she was in a silver van and he was in a blue Impala, and that the person was ramming her vehicle. “He’s gonna kill me,” she said.
“God no, Brandon,” the girl could possibly be heard saying on the decision. “… No. You’re not going to jail. … Brandon, please go, leave.”
The lady reported that police arrived after which she screamed, “No,” repeatedly and “Tell them stop. … Don’t shoot him” before she asked for an ambulance to reply.
Video shows officer limping, man on ground
The videos show Tschida exited his squad at Cretin and Marshall avenues at 2:17 p.m. Thursday. He yelled to a person, “Get on the bottom, on the bottom!” That’s when the shooting happened.
“Shots fired, shots fired!,” Tschida relayed on his police radio. “… I’m hit!”
A dispatcher called a “Signal 13,” the best priority in St. Paul of an officer needing help.
A girl ran from a silver van and to the person, and Tschida repeatedly shouted for her to maneuver. “Get the (expletive) out of the way in which, so I can get him help!,” Tschida yelled as she cried.
The officer could possibly be seen on video limping toward the pair, removing a handgun that was under the person’s ankle and moving it away.
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, which is investigating, has said they recovered a handgun on the scene.
Tschida was treated and released from the hospital Thursday. He was placed on administrative leave, which is standard in such cases.
Leaders respond
Mayor Melvin Carter said Tuesday that St. Paul had “experienced, in a single moment, two of essentially the most horrific experiences that a community can endure.”
“Each of those together are a difficult incident that leaves our city with complex layers of grief to unpack and to process,” Carter said. “We’re fortunate and grateful that on this instance the injuries to Officer Tschida were non-life threatening. Our prayers, after all proceed to be with him and together with his family as he recovers. … We also know that we lost a community member at the identical time. … We also know that that reality is traumatizing.”
Carter said, within the interest of transparency, he’s committed to releasing body-camera footage after the BCA collects preliminary witness statements and the family of the deceased is in a position to view it. They hope the video provides “at the least some clarity around a few of the facts that we all know very early on,” said Police Chief Axel Henry.
Mark Ross, St. Paul Police Federation president, said the video shows Tschida responded “heroically” after he was shot and had no place to take cover.
“This, once more, illustrates the grave danger posed to law enforcement, communities, and the selections that have to be made, in a split second, to preserve life,” said Brian Peters, Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association executive director, in a Tuesday statement. “This incident could have ended otherwise: the victim of domestic abuse could have died and/or the law enforcement officers or other innocent victims could have died. Enough is enough. It’s time for our leaders to face together to denounce violent escalation on police.”