Police-involved deaths during tenure of Hennepin County Attorney Amy Klobuchar

February 27, 2020 at 10:51PM

The Star Tribune collected the names and stories of all 30 people who died after a physical confrontation with law enforcement in Hennepin County between Jan. 5, 1999, and Jan. 3, 2007, the period when Amy Klobuchar was Hennepin County Attorney. The database was built by culling information from death certificates, news stories, crowdsourcing sites, state and local police records, FBI supplementary homicide reports and arrest-related death reports and medical examiner data. None of the officers involved in these cases faced criminal charges.

Donald Richter, 65

Four Brooklyn Park police officers and their sergeant went to a motel to evict Richter. Two officers fired after he lunged at a third officer with a screwdriver. Incident: 03-29-1999. Brooklyn Park PD.

Rocco A. Dandrea, 42

Police responded to a 911 call about a man with a gun near Washington and Cedar Avs. S. Police repeatedly asked Dandrea to drop his gun but he turned toward them raised the gun in their direction before one officers fired a round from a shotgun and another fired from his handgun. Dandrea died at the scene. Police later discovered that he was wielding a plastic toy replica gun. Incident: 12-8-1999. Minneapolis PD.

Barbara Schneider, 49

Police called to a loud music complaint at her Uptown apartment found her with a knife screaming about Satan. Officers shot her after she allegedly "advanced" with a knife. Officers learned later she suffered from a bipolar disorder. Her husband lost a suit against the city, with a judge ruling the officer's use of force was objectively reasonable. Incident: 6-12-2000. Minneapolis PD.

Alfred Sanders, 29

Sanders, who had a bipolar disorder, was spotted driving erratically. When officers confronted him in an alley he refused orders to show his hands and tried to drive off, hitting vehicles and colliding with a squad car. Officers opened fire. Incident: 11-01-2000. Minneapolis PD.

Sean Hayes, 34

Police tried to stop Hayes after getting a report of a man trying to lure children into his car. After a short car chase, he ran into one officer and allegedly tried to hit another. Five officers opened fire simultaneously. Incident: 5-14-2000. Minneapolis PD.

David White, 30

White, a private detective, allegedly robbed an Edina bank, then shot an Edina officer four times before speeding off with the money in an SUV. After stopping, he allegedly pointed his rifle at police officers, who shot him. Incident: 11-16-2000. Edina PD.

James Fye, 29

Shot by Minneapolis Police during an undercover drug buy in St. Paul. Fye allegedly tried to drive away, hitting one officer and dragging another, prompting officers to shoot. Incident: 11-21-2000. Minneapolis PD.

Abdullah Simmons-Muhammad, 15

Shot by police chasing a car in which Abdullah was riding. Officers alleged he raised a gun at them. Incident: 7-29-2001. Minneapolis PD.

Efrain Pompa De Paz, 21

De Paz allegedly refused orders to get out of a car police were chasing. Officers thought he was reaching under the front seat for a weapon and shot him. No weapon was found. Incident: 5-01-2001. Minneapolis PD.

Demitreus Sesler, 27

Shot after he jumped out of a jeep being pursued during a burglary investigation and allegedly pointed a shotgun at officers. Incident: 4-2-2001. Minneapolis PD.

Timothy Golden, 33

Golden, with a history of depression, tried to force his way into his estranged wife's apartment and was later stopped in his car. When he got out, he allegedly pointed a gun at his head and then at aimed at Fridley police officers, who shot him. Incident: 3-29-2001. Fridley PD.

Christopher Burns, 44

Police summoned to a dispute between Burns and his fiancée. Officers used an authorized neck hold to restrain him, then he died within minutes of being put in handcuffs. Incident: 11-1-2002. Minneapolis PD.

Lamont Scott, 30

Scott was attempting to rob a Subway shop when he was confronted by an off-duty Edina police officer having dinner. The officer ducked behind a cash register and shot Scott after Scott allegedly pointed his weapon at him. Incident: 8-15-2002. Edina PD.

Martha Donald, 60

Donald was shot and killed in a shootout with a policewoman in the bathroom of a public housing complex. The policewoman also was killed. Incident: 8-1-2002. Minneapolis PD.

Abu Jeilani, 28

Jeilani was a mentally ill man walking down the middle of a street carrying a machete and a crowbar. Police tasered him several times but Jeilani continued to threaten them with his machete. Officers tried six times to immobilize Jailani using stun guns. Six officers fire on him. Incident: 3-10-2002. Minneapolis PD.

Walter Collins, 21

Police investigating a suspected drug deal saw two men run away from them. One, Collins, turned and allegedly reached for a gun in his waistband. An officer shot him. Incident: 10-10-2003. Minneapolis PD.

Anthony Williams, 28

Police responding to a report of shots fired chased Williams and used pepper spray to subdue him. Williams was unarmed and died from respiratory arrest. Incident: 8-28-2003. Minneapolis PD.

Eric Netters, 31

Pulled over for hot-rodding in his SUV, Netters stopped and then accelerated, dragging an officer down the street. An officer got into the SUV and shot Netters after Netters tried to take his gun, police said. Incident: 5-7-2003. Minneapolis PD.

Roderick Harvey Jr., 28

Allegedly threatened to shoot a wired police informant in a setup drug deal in the parking lot of a Brooklyn Park apartment complex. After a chase, he was seen on the ground and lifting his gun to fire. Police opened fire. Incident: 3-25-2003. Brooklyn Park PD and Hennepin County Sheriff.

Courtney Williams, 15

Cops responding to a shots-fired call saw a group of teens scattering. They gave chase to Williams, a high school student. He was shot after he allegedly refused commands to stop and appeared to be reaching for something in his waistband, police said. A pellet gun was found near his body. Incident: 10-24-2004. Minneapolis PD.

Todd Hubbell, 34

Hubbell, estranged from his wife, left a suicide message on his parents' phone asking them to cremate him. He then shot and killed his father-in-law and led police on a chase before dying in a shootout with St. Louis Park police officers. Incident: 6-2-2004. St. Louis Park PD.

Lorenzo Doby, 28

Doby was confronted by police responding to 911 calls about a man pounding on windows and screaming for help. Officers struggled with Doby and used chemicals to subdue him. His death was ruled an accident due to "excited delirium" from mixing PCP and Ecstasy. Incident: 5-26-2004. Minneapolis PD.

Ronald Adamson, 50

Soon after he was released from jail after posting bail, officers were summoned to his home in New Hope by a silent 911 call. He was shot after he allegedly threatened an officer with a weapon. Reports indicated mental health issues. Incident: 4-13-2004. New Hope PD.

Raymond Siegler, 40

Siegler, who as disabled, threatened fellow residents of a group home for adults with mental illness. He suffered a heart attack after officers used a Taser on him. Incident: 2-11-2004. Minneapolis PD.

Ricky Redin, 47

Chased after attempting to rob a Money Center store. After he was tackled he stabbed the officers and was shot. Incident: 8-1-2005. Minneapolis PD.

Benjamin DeCoteau, 21

Officer tagging cars to be towed said he noticed two men carrying guns and went to check it out. After DeCoteau fired at his police van, an officer fired back. Incident: 1-22-2005. Minneapolis PD.

Joseph Azuz, 24

Azuz's father called 911 asking police to check on his son, who he said was bipolar and schizophrenic, off his medications and possibly suicidal. Azuz was alone smashing up an apartment with a golf club shaft. A group of officers tried to subdue him before an officer shot him. Incident: 12-24-2006. Eden Prairie PD.

Wayne Reyes, 42

Police were called when Reyes stabbed his girlfriend and a male friend. Police gave chase when he drove off. Officers said he pointed a sawed-off shotgun at them when they stopped him. Six officers opened fire. Incident: 10-29-2006. Minneapolis PD.

Dominic Felder, 27

Felder's girlfriend called 911 for help getting him to the hospital for a psych evaluation. He fought with two responding officers and allegedly reached for his waistband. Officers thought he had a weapon and opened fire. He was unarmed. City eventually paid $2.19 million to Felder's family. Incident: 9-20-2006. Minneapolis PD.

Fong Lee, 19

Chased by a police officer outside an elementary school. Lee allegedly refused to drop a handgun despite repeated commands. The officer fired when Lee appeared to turn to shoot his gun. Incident: 7-22-2006. Minneapolis PD.

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