Duluth police officer acquitted after shooting man through a door is back at work

DULUTH — A police officer who was acquitted of felony charges after wounding a man he shot at through a closed apartment door is back at work with the Duluth Police Department.

Tyler Leibfried, believed to be the first Duluth police officer to be charged with a crime after an on-duty shooting, is currently active in the patrol division, department spokeswoman Mattie Hjelseth confirmed. Leibfried, who was initially hired in 2016, was dismissed after the shooting — but has been back with the Police Department since May 1, according to his attorney Paul Engh.

"He's pleased to be back," Engh said of his client.

Leibfried was charged with second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon and intentional discharge of a firearm after shooting Jared Fyle through his apartment door in mid-September 2020. A jury found Leibfried not guilty of either charge in April 2022.

Leibfried had responded to a call about a domestic argument at the downtown complex, and met Fyle's then-girlfriend in the parking lot. He and another officer went to the third floor to pick up her belongings. Leibfried testified that he wasn't comfortable when he got to the apartment door, which was tucked into an alcove off a narrow hallway — a spot without shelter if the person inside starting shooting.

Leibfried said during the trial that it brought to mind a 2019 standoff on Skyline Parkway where his colleague was hit with a bullet and K-9 Haas was killed. He heard two loud noises that he believed were gunshots, but turned out to be Fyle closing his door with a hatchet.

"I, essentially, am starting to come to the conclusion that I am about to be killed or seriously injured," he testified.

He fired four shots into the door, paused, then fired twice more. Fyle yelled for him to stop; he still had a bullet in his back during closing arguments.