Family Of Isak Aden, Victim Of Police Shooting, Files Civil Rights Lawsuit

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) - One year exactly after police in the Twin Cities suburbs killed Isak Aden, his family has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit.

Aden was a 23-year-old Somali American man who was shot and killed after a stand-off with police in Eagan on July 2, 2019. Police were originally called on a report of a domestic dispute between Aden and his girlfriend. She had originally claimed he threatened her with a handgun, but later - before Aden's death - admitted her statement to be untrue, according to the lawsuit.

After a short foot-chase, Aden stopped and sat on a curb at 6:44 p.m. on 1971 Seneca Drive in Eagan. Officers from Bloomington, Burnsville, Eagan, and Edina responded with SWAT teams, K-9s, and created a perimeter around Aden. After Aden communicated with police for hours, they eventually deployed three flashbang explosives and less lethal rounds at him. Then five officers fired lethal rounds, hitting him 11 times.

No charges were filed against the officers. Dakota County Attorney James Backstrom said in November that they were legally justified in their use of deadly force.

READ MORE: Video Shows Moments Leading Up To Isak Aden's Fatal Police Shooting

The lawsuit, which is filed against the four cities and five officers directly involved with Aden's death, seeks compensatory and punitive damages from the defendants.

It also says that the officers' "ascription of deadly intent to the benign conduct of a Black, Somali male despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary is the epitome of prejudice and racial bias."

Aden's case has received a new wave of attention after the death of George Floyd. On July 1, protesters gathered at Eagan Outlet Mall to demand his case be reopened.