DULUTH, Minn. — A Duluth police officer is charged with two felony criminal counts in connection with a shooting incident in September.
The St. Louis County Attorney's Office announced Monday that Tyler Leibfried faces charges of intentional discharge of a firearm endangering the safety of another, and reckless discharge of a firearm. The charges come following an independent investigation conducted by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA).
According to a criminal complaint, police officers were dispatched to an apartment in downtown Duluth just before 9:30 p.m. on September 12, 2020 on reports of a domestic altercation. Shortly after officers arrived, prosecutors say Leibfried believed he heard two gun shots from inside the apartment.
Officer Leibfried discharged his firearm into the door. The shot went through the door and struck Jared Fyle, 23, of Duluth, in the shoulder. Prosecutors say fellow offficers who searched the apartment later did not find any evidence whatsoever of a firearm or ammunition, other than the bullets fired by Leibfried.
"After mistakenly thinking he heard two gunshots, Officer Leibfried fired first four, then two more rounds into a closed door leading to apartment," reads a statement from the St. Louis County Attorney's office.
Fyle was taken to the hospital, and eventually booked into the St. Louis County Jail on probable cause domestic assault. Prosecutors did not end up charging Fyle with a crime.
St. Louis County Attorney Mark Rubin said in a statement that Leibfried’s conduct "fails the objective reasonable officer standard and that it was not an objectively reasonable use of deadly force."
The filing of charges means the Duluth Police Department now has full access to the investigative files, and will launch a full internal investigation. Officer Leibfried remains on paid leave pending the outcome of that administrative investigation.
