May 5: Troopers cleared in Tasered Fridley man's death

No criminal charges will be filed in connection with the death of a Fridley man who was Tasered by State Patrol troopers after a freeway crash in January, the Ramsey County attorney's office said Monday.

"Mark Backlund's death was a sad event," County Attorney Susan Gaertner said. "There is no evidence, however, that the troopers violated any laws in carrying out their duties."

Backlund, 29, was en route to pick up his parents at the airport Jan. 15 when he crashed into a central median barrier on Interstate 694 in New Brighton during the evening rush hour.

The State Patrol said last month that he was shot with a Taser because he verbally and physically resisted troopers' requests and tried to drive away even though bystanders were in front of his vehicle.

Gaertner said Monday that charging attorneys reviewed reports from the troopers involved in the incident, eyewitness accounts of the good Samaritans who stopped to assist the driver after the crash, the autopsy report, video from the squad car and video from a camera mounted on the Taser.

The video from the squad car showed what happened from the moment troopers arrived until the driver was loaded into an ambulance, Gaertner said.

The observations from two eyewitnesses "give us a great deal of confidence in our conclusion," she said.

"The eyewitnesses described the driver as being uncooperative and combative with the troopers," Gaertner said. "They observed the driver punch one of the troopers and continue to struggle and fight with the trooper after the driver got out of his vehicle."

The declination memo from the county attorney's office said, "A Taser was deployed to control Mr. Backlund for his own safety, that of the two eyewitnesses and troopers. ... Before firing the Taser, the troopers ordered Mr. Backlund numerous times to cooperate."

Backlund was unconscious after being stunned and died that night at a Fridley hospital. His death certificate, filed April 4 by the Anoka County medical examiner, cited the cause of death as mixed drug use, including acute cocaine abuse. Tests also detected marijuana, a painkiller and other drugs. Contributing factors included police restraint and heart conditions.

In early April, Backlund's father questioned the troopers' use of a Taser.

"My son didn't have a weapon and he is Tasered?" Gordon Backlund asked. "It doesn't make sense."

Gaertner said Monday that she carefully read the autopsy report and "the simple conclusion is that the Taser was a nonfactor."

Reached at his home in Fridley on Monday, Gordon Backlund said he would not comment until he had read the investigative report prepared by the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and reviewed by the county attorney's office.

"There's no way I'll comment on something I haven't seen," he said. "I've been waiting for them to finish and now they're finished."

State Patrol Lt. Mark Peterson did not return a phone call seeking comment from the agency.

Pat Pheifer • 651-298-1551