MINNETONKA, Minn. — The Hennepin County Sheriff's Office has released body camera footage from a deadly shootout earlier this month as police and sheriff's deputies were serving a warrant at a home in Minnetonka.
The footage captures the initial shots being fired by a man inside the home and the deputies returning fire. The man, later identified as 28-year-old Clint Hoyhtya, died of multiple gunshot wounds. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) later confirmed Hoyhtya was not the target of the warrant.
Two deputies were also injured — one was treated on scene, while the other, later identified as Deputy Christopher Heihn, was transported to a hospital where he was released the following day.
"Our thoughts are with everyone affected by this incident, including our deputies, the officers and emergency responders who arrived to support our agency, those living near the site, and the family of Mr. Hoyhtya. We hope the release of this video provides some clarity as we try to understand this tragic incident," said Sheriff Dawanna Witt in a press release.
The edited body camera footage, which contains graphic content, can be viewed on the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office YouTube here.
One of the body cameras, worn by Deputy Keith McNamara, shows him knocking on the door and yelling, "come to the door, now." He can later be heard screaming, "we're going to kick (the door) in." After what sounds like a gun cocking, a man is heard yelling "what the (expletive) do you want?" Deputy McNamara then retreats, screaming, "Got a gun! Got a gun!"
After retreating to the side of the home, two shots can be heard. The BCA said that the initial shots were fired from an assault-style rifle.
Deputy Heihn can be heard on his body camera saying, "No officers have fired. He fired out the back of the residence into the hillside."
About a minute later, Deputy Heihn is heard yelling, "Show me your hands" before several shots are fired. Deputy Heihn then retreats and says, "I've been shot!"
Deputy Steven Tomasko's body camera captured the audio from the shootout, but the video doesn't show much else than him firing his weapon. Several rounds can be heard being fired, however, it's unclear by who.
Deputies Heihn, McNamara, Tomasko and Tyler Jacob all fired their weapons, according to the BCA.
KARE 11's Ian Russell took the body camera footage to Joe Dutton, a use-of-force expert with decades spent in law enforcement. Dutton broke down the video, saying, while Hoyhtya was not the person deputies were looking for, he became their priority when he opened fire.
"They're dealing with the person with a rifle that's willing to shoot at them," Dutton said. "That's their concern now."
When asked if the deputies were justified in their use of force, Dutton said based on what he saw, they were. He added, "That's about a dangerous of a situation as you're going to get."
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