A Ramsey County Sheriff’s deputy was recovering Saturday after being struck by a bullet fragment during a chase Friday night on St. Paul’s East Side.
Ramsey County deputy shot at during car chase in St. Paul
A bullet fragment reportedly struck the deputy on the strap of his ballistic vest, but he was treated at a hospital and released.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
March 2, 2024 at 5:38PM
According to a news release from the St. Paul police, officers spotted a dark Honda Accord at about 10:45 p.m. speeding through stop signs near Payne and Jessamine avenues. When they tried to stop the car, it accelerated. Officers chose not to chase the car, but warned others that it wouldn’t pull over.
Ramsey County Deputy Joe Kill spotted the vehicle near Payne and Minnehaha avenues and attempted to stop it with sirens and lights, according to a post on Sheriff Bob Fletcher’s “Live on Patrol” Facebook page. Kill began chasing the vehicle when it refused to stop.
During the chase, according to Fletcher’s Facebook post, a passenger in the suspect vehicle leaned out the car window and began shooting at Kill and his vehicle with what appeared to be an AR-style rifle. Gunfire hit Kill’s squad car, with one bullet passing through the hood of the vehicle and the dashboard and finally sending a fragment into the strap of Kill’s ballistic vest near his collarbone.
Kill was taken to a hospital, checked for injuries and released.
St. Paul Police Department Sgt. Mike Ernster confirmed the shooting, adding that Kill’s vest was struck “by debris or possibly shrapnel from the bullets coming into his vehicle.”
Investigators recovered two rifle casings at the scene, according to Fletcher’s post, and St. Paul police found the suspect’s vehicle about six blocks away in the 1000 block of Pacific Street.
Brian Peters, executive director of the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association, issued a statement Saturday expressing relief that the deputy wasn’t killed and saying the episode again demonstrates “the severe danger posed to law enforcement in their duties to keep communities safe.” Peters said that “increased violence against law enforcement is at a crisis level,” and called it “a war on police in Minnesota.”
Officers need community support and resources to do their jobs safely, he added, “during this recruitment and retention crisis ... It’s time for leaders to support law enforcement and stop providing aid and comfort to lawlessness.”
No arrests had been reported as of Saturday. St. Paul police are investigating the shooting to avoid any potential conflict of interest.
A Ramsey County judge’s decision to delay the lottery could affect the launch of Minnesota’s retail marijuana market.
