NEW AUBURN, Minn. — On Saturday the Minnesota Department of Public Safety's Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) identified the man killed by police in New Auburn and five officers who used force in the Dec. 15 incident.
According to information released to the media, Brent Alsleben, 34, of New Auburn, was shot to death.
Information from the BCA said the Sibley County Sheriff's Office was called by Alsleben's family to do a welfare check on Dec. 14, saying they were concerned about his mental health.
A deputy and emergency responders went to Alsleben's home in New Auburn around 1:30 p.m. Several hours after they arrived, officers said Alsleben showed a knife and swung it at the first responders.
Shortly after midnight on Dec. 15, three Hutchinson officers and two deputies from the McCleod County Sheriff's Office forced open the door to Alsleben's apartment, officials said. Officers asked him to surrender but said they did not enter the apartment.
Officers said they couldn't see Alsleben and he didn't respond to their commands. Body camera footage from police shows there may have been something on fire in the apartment at this time.
When officers entered the apartment, they said they saw Alsleben on the living room floor holding a large hunting knife. Police said they tried to take the man into custody but he struggled, cutting one of the officers.
Deputies tried to taze him. They were unsuccessful, according to a media release. Alsleben started to stand up and was still holding the knife, officers claimed.
Officials said three Hutchinson officers fired their weapons and struck the 34-year-old man.
The BCA has identified the following five officers who used force during this incident. Only the three Hutchinson officers are on standard administrative leave at this time, according to officials:
Officer Taylor Fenrich fired his duty pistol. He has 17 years of law enforcement experience
Officer Phillip Mielke fired his patrol rifle. He has nine years of law enforcement experience
Officer Tyler Schmeling fired his patrol rifle. He has eight years of law enforcement experience
Deputy Andrew Demeyer discharged his Taser. He has 16 years of law enforcement experience
Deputy David Olson discharged his Taser. He has 17 years of law enforcement experience
BCA officials said they found a knife at the scene and are currently reviewing the police body camera footage from the incident. Officers from the Sibley County Sheriff's Department were also at the apartment but were not involved in the use-of-force incident police said.
According to the BCA, the officers and deputies involved in the incident have not submitted statements as of Saturday morning but are expected to do so in the coming days.
New Auburn is located just over an hour southwest of the Twin Cities and has about 500 residents.
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