Crystal Officers Cleared in Park Shooting

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) _ The Hennepin County attorney says four Crystal police officers who shot and wounded a teenager in a park last May were justified in their use of force.

County Attorney Mike Freeman said Thursday Khaleel Thompson refused to drop what appeared to be a gun and pointed at the officers before they opened fire and wounded him in Bassett Creek Park. Thompson, who was 18 at the time, suffered gunshots to his head, right side, and back.

Freeman says the officers pleaded with Thompson to drop the weapon and used a
non-lethal bean bag rifle first.

An investigation into the shooting was conducted by the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. Freeman says investigators found that Thompson had a history of depression and paranoid schizophrenia and had previously expressed a desire to be fatally shot by police.