Mpls PD guns down man in front of his friend

[TheeBadOne]

Minneapolis man killed by police officer

A 21-year-old Minneapolis man was shot and killed early Saturday by a Minneapolis police officer tagging cars in north Minneapolis, police officials said.

Benjamin Gene Decoteau, a suspect in two violent crimes during the past two years, was walking with an acquaintance near the intersection of 26th and Upton Avenues N., in the Willard-Hay neighborhood, when the incident occurred, police said.

The second man, a 27-year-old from Minneapolis, was arrested at the scene, officers said.

At a late-morning news conference, Police Chief William McManus declined to identify the officer, saying that he was still asleep and that McManus did not want his name in the news until he had a chance to consult with him. The officer joined the department in 1990, McManus said, and is on administrative leave, standard procedure in police-involved shootings.

The officer saw one of the men carrying what appeared to be a rifle or shotgun, McManus said, and made a move to check out what was going on. When he did so, one of the men began to fire, missing the officer but striking the windshield of the police van, according to homicide commander Lee Edwards. The officer returned fire, fatally wounding the shooter, and arrested the other man. A shotgun and handgun were found at the scene.

article