St. Louis Park officer involved in fatal shooting is identified

St. Louis Park police have released the name of the officer who shot and killed a man while responding to a domestic dispute on Jan. 19.

Officer Samuel Heffernan, 26, who has been with the St. Louis Park force for three years, shot and killed 35-year-old Matthew N. Tuhkanen of Anoka just before 6:30 p.m. that Saturday inside a unit at the Louisiana Court Apartments at 2760 Louisiana Court, police said.

Authorities have not said whether Tuhkanen was armed or what led to the gunfire. The Hennepin County Sheriff's Office is investigating. Heffernan has been placed on administrative leave.

Officers were not wearing body cameras at the time, said sheriff's spokesman Jeremy Zoss. St. Louis Park police are still testing body-worn cameras and expect them to be issued later this year.

It's unclear whether dashcam footage is available of the encounter, which began after a report of a verbal domestic dispute between a woman and her child's father.

A dispatcher relayed that warrants for Tuhkanen from Anoka County noted that he's a "suicide risk," according to emergency dispatch audio. Later, an officer yelled to dispatchers that shots were fired and a medic was needed.

According to Tuhkanen's online obituary, he is survived by four children.

STAFF REPORT