State crime authorities have publicly identified a 23-year-old man who wielded a chain saw during a June 11 standoff with police in Brooklyn Center, along with the officers who shot him.
Damon Constans Jr. “armed himself with a chain saw,” started it up and advanced on police officers who were investigating a domestic dispute, according to a news release from the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.
Five officers confronted Constans, including Brooklyn Center officers Austin Burt and Tarik Kekic, both of whom discharged their firearms and struck Constans. Both have been placed on leave amid a state investigation of the incident, along with Brooklyn Center officer Derek Wodnick, who fired a 40 mm less-lethal launcher at Constans.
Brooklyn Park Sgt. Juel Lund also fired a 40 mm less-lethal launcher while attempting to arrest Constans, and Crystal police officer Isaiah Gorman “deployed PepperBall rounds,” according to the BCA release.
The BCA did not specify the nature of Constans’ injuries or where he was shot. Officers provided medical care before he was transported by ambulance to a local hospital. He remained there in stable condition as of Friday, according to the release.
Officers had been dispatched around 10:15 p.m. on June 11 to a home in the 3200 block of 63rd Avenue N., responding to a call from a woman who wanted Constans removed from the property. Constans had also called police from the home, reporting that his mother was holding a knife.
Police during the investigation arrested Constans’ mother on suspicion of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon. Afterward, Constans went inside the home and found the chain saw. Officers negotiated with him at length before attempting to arrest him.
BCA agents are reviewing body camera footage as part of their investigation of the incident. They will present findings without recommendation to the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office for review.