Lawyer Defends Officer In Blevins Shooting After Audio Aired
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- For the first time, we are hearing from an attorney for one of the officers involved in the shooting death of 31-year-old Thurman Blevins.
Investigators say Minneapolis police officers Justin Schmidt and Ryan Kelly killed 31-year-old Blevins last month followed a 911 call about a man firing a gun in a north Minneapolis neighborhood. Responding officers say Blevins ran from them, and they shot him during a foot chase. State investigators say the officers found a handgun near his body. Some witnesses questioned whether he had a gun.
Calls for the release of police body camera video of the shooting were heard on the streets of St. Paul Friday night. A group of protesters walked a mile and a half to the headquarters of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension -- the agency investigating Blevins's deadly June 23 shooting by Minneapolis police officers. Activists and family want the BCA to release body camera footage immediately.
A spokesperson for Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey says the mayor still plans to authorize the release of the video by the end of the month, which is Tuesday.
Lt. Bob Kroll, president of the Police Officers Federation of Minnneapolis, called the officers' action "heroic work," while Blevins' relatives called for them to be fired. Schmidt and Kelly are on leave, which is standard policy when police use deadly force.
A Twin Cities news station aired audio of the shooting Friday night, which was recorded by a neighbor's home surveillance camera.
Kevin Short, Schmidt's attorney for Justin Schmidt, released this statement Saturday:
On June 23rd two Minneapolis Police Officers were forced to use deadly force as a result of the actions of Thurman Blevins. I represent Officer Justin Schmidt. Robert Paule represents Officer Ryan Kelly. Officers Schmidt and Kelly fulfilled their oaths to protect and serve and should be commended, not vilified, for their bravery in so doing. While this is a tragic situation for the family and friends of Mr. Blevins, that does not take away from the fact that what happened was dictated by the actions of Mr. Blevins.
It is difficult to draw any intelligent conclusions about what happened on June 23rd until the BCA investigation is completed and their evidence is reviewed. A muddled audio recording from a camera in the neighborhood does little to shed light on what happened.
The use of deadly force by these two officers was clearly justified. Their independent decisions to use deadly force arose from their belief that Mr. Blevins was going to kill them. The BCA investigation will reveal that Mr. Blevins was armed, had discharged his weapon, ran from the police with that weapon, and pulled his weapon out of his pocket as the police were pursuing him.
Officers Schmidt and Ryan have cooperated with the investigation into this matter from its inception. They each provided detailed recorded statements to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension not long after the shooting.
