AG Ellison's Office Working With Washington Co. Attorney To Investigate Officer-Involved Shooting
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO/AP) -- Attorney General Keith Ellison says his office and the Washington County Attorney's Office will jointly review the officer-involved shooting that happened last week in St. Paul.
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said Tuesday that the shooting victim -- 31-year-old Joseph Javonte Washington -- is still being treated at St. Paul's Regions Hospital. The incident happened Saturday, Nov. 28.
"When a county attorney asks us to take over a sensitive case — particularly when another county attorney is providing the resources, and particularly when doing so will improve public trust in the criminal-justice system — I will give that request my fullest consideration. I'm grateful to County Attorney Choi for his trust in my office, and to County Attorney Orput for his partnership and the significant resources he is providing," Attorney General Ellison said.
Investigators said the vehicle Washington and his victim were in crashed just before 8 p.m. near the intersection of Rice Street and Maryland Avenue in St. Paul's North End neighborhood. Investigators said Washington then broke into a nearby home. The homeowner called 911, and officers soon arrived to find Washington naked and hiding in a dumpster just after 9 p.m. on the 1000 block of Rice Street.
He has been charged by the Dakota County Attorney's office with three counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, one count of kidnapping and one count of second-degree assault in connection to alleged crimes perpetrated in his Lakeville home several hours before he was shot.
A source told WCCO earlier this week that the St. Paul police officer who shot Washington has been relieved of duty.
"When I ask myself if the officer's actions on Saturday night were reasonable or necessary, the only answer I can come up with is no," St. Paul Police Chief Todd Axtell said.
This is not the first police use-of-force case Ellison's office has been involved in. This summer, his office took the lead in prosecuting the cases against four former Minneapolis police officers who are charged in the May 25 death of George Floyd.
Choi, the Ramsey County attorney, said he has every confidence that Ellison and Choi's counterparts in Washington County will "handle this case with the utmost integrity. I am grateful for their willingness to step forward and advance the interests of justice in how prosecutors handle officer-involved shooting incidents in Minnesota."
(© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
