Saying he had no choice but to shoot an armed and suicidal man, Washington County Deputy Brian Krook testified in his defense Tuesday in his manslaughter trial for the 2018 death of Benjamin Evans.
Krook, who shot Evans without warning in two volleys of gunfire, said he felt horrible but that Evans' behavior ultimately caused him to fire. "I shot until the threat was gone," he said, under questioning from his attorney, Kevin Short.
Krook was indicted by a grand jury on second-degree manslaughter charges in the death of Evans, 23, a Lake Elmo firefighter and EMT.
The two men faced each other on a public street in Lake Elmo early on April 12, 2018, after Krook and several other deputies responded to a call about a suicidal man.
Evans was upset about an ex-girlfriend and had written suicide notes to his parents and to the first responders he imagined coming to his aid. He spent nearly 40 minutes kneeling in a crosswalk and refusing commands to drop his handgun before Krook fired the shots that killed him.
Krook, 32, who had patrolled the Lake Elmo area for about five years before the shooting, said he felt threatened because even though Evans had his handgun pointed at his own head, he kept turning his head and torso as he looked up and down the street. As Evans turned, the gun barrel was pointed not only at his head but also at the deputies beyond.
Krook said it was even more unnerving that Evans, as a first responder, knew the tactics being used that night — something that became apparent as negotiations wore on and Evans began complimenting the deputies for their efforts to de-escalate the situation.
Krook said it wasn't reassuring to him when Evans said he didn't want to hurt the deputies. Why is he thinking that, Krook asked in court, adding that Evans could have intended to give a false sense of security before attacking.
