St. Louis County deputy involved in third deadly-force shooting

DULUTH – The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is investigating a shooting earlier this week that involved a St. Louis County sheriff's deputy in the Morgan Park neighborhood of Duluth. The shooting early Tuesday morning left Jesse Ferrari, 29, with noncritical injuries.

Deputy Jason Kuhnly shot Ferrari after he initially fled from officers attempting to stop him while driving down a street in an all-terrain vehicle, the bureau said. It is the third career deadly-force incident for Kuhnly, including the second this year.

A criminal complaint says Ferrari, on an ATV, and another man on a separate ATV, were driving down Commonwealth Avenue without headlights. When a different officer began to follow them, one of the ATVs stopped and the driver got on the other as a passenger. They fled the area, driving over the speed limit, and moved onto an ATV trail, ignoring the deputy's attempt at a traffic stop, the complaint said. A police dog found the men in a wooded area and at one point Kuhnly shot at Ferrari, striking him.

In June, an investigation into a January deadly-force incident involving Kuhnly in Saginaw concluded that carjacking suspect Scott M. Jordan, 34, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound and not from Kuhnly's gunfire. Kuhnly was also involved in a 2019 incident in Hermantown that ended in the death of Timothy Majchrzak, who had fired a gun at Kuhnly. Kuhnly shot Majchrzak while another deputy, Troy Fralich, struck him with his vehicle. He died of gunshot wounds, a medical examiner said.

In both incidents, deadly force was found to be justified.

Kuhnly, who has been with the Sheriff's Office for eight years, is on standard administrative leave while the incident is investigated. Ferrari's charges include fleeing an officer in a motor vehicle and driving after revocation.

Jana Hollingsworth • 218-508-2450