The family of a suicidal man who was killed during a standoff in 2018 with the Washington County Sheriff's Office is suing the deputy who fired the fatal shot and then was acquitted of manslaughter by a state jury.
The lawsuit was filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis and names as defendants Deputy Brian Krook, along with two fellow deputies and a sheriff's sergeant on the scene, Sheriff Dan Starry and the Sheriff's Office.
It was Krook's gunfire in a Lake Elmo residential intersection on April 12, 2018, that struck 23-year-old Benjamin Evans, who was holding a handgun to his head for much of the 45-minute stalemate.
William Evans, Benjamin's father and acting as trustee for the family, specifies in the suit no specific dollar amount in damages being sought for what the filing claims was "willful, reckless and intentional … assault, battery, unauthorized use of force, negligence and wrongful death." Instead, Evans and family are asking for a jury to determine compensatory and punitive damages should the case go to trial.
An attorney for the defendants, Joe Flynn, said Tuesday that Evans' gun did "point in the direction" of the deputies during the encounter. Also, Evans could have moved "the gun away from his head in a fraction of a second and fire upon the officers before they even had the opportunity to respond. … Mr. Evans put the lives of area citizens, other law enforcement officers, and Deputy Krook at risk."
In March 2020, jurors acquitted Krook of second-degree manslaughter, siding with the defense's version of the deputy as a hero who was "stone-cold innocent" when Krook confronted and then shot Evans, a Lake Elmo firefighter who was upset about an ex-girlfriend.
The trial hinged on Krook's perception of danger: Was he justified in shooting a man who was kneeling in a public street while pointing a handgun at his temple and negotiating with another deputy? The gun pointed toward the deputies as Evans turned his head and torso from side to side. Krook, in the minutes before firing, noted the movements to another deputy and expressed being uncomfortable with Evans' motions.
Krook's acquittal immediately freed him to return to duty. Flynn said that Krook is still with the Sheriff's Office as are the other defendants, Sgt. Michelle Folendorf, and deputies Joshua Ramirez and Michael Ramos.
