Minneosota BCA Investigates Oct. 28 Fatal Police Shooting

Authorities Saturday identified the man fatally shot by police in western Minnesota on Oct. 28. Jay Johannes Holmgren, 37, of Evansville, Minnesota, died of a gunshot wound. The Minnesota Department of Public Safety Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) is investigating the incident.

Authorities say that one deputy fired his weapon during the incident. Deputy Ron Hensinger has been with the Stevens County Sheriff’s Department for three years and prior to that worked for five years as a University of Minnesota-Morris Police Department officer. He is currently on standard administrative leave, according to authorities. The BCA investigation into the incident is ongoing. Once the investigation is complete, the BCA will turn its findings over to the Traverse County Attorney’s Office for review.

About 7:05 a.m. on Friday, a Stevens County Sheriff’s Office deputy was responding to a report of an erratic driver. The deputy located the subject’s pick-up truck stopped on Main Street near Donnelly, Minnesota. The male driver was alone and appeared to be slumped over. The deputy made contact with the driver and identified him with his driver’s license. The driver then took off in the vehicle and a pursuit ensued. At one point as the driver fled through Donnelly the pick-up truck rammed a Morris Police Department squad.

The pursuit stretched approximately 50 miles, going through Stevens, Grant and Traverse counties at speeds of up to 80 mph, according to authorities. Traverse and Grant County deputies, Morris and Wheaton police officers and a Minnesota State Patrol trooper joined the pursuit. At one point while east of Wheaton on Highway 27, the subject fired several shots through the back window at the pursuing squads, according to a news release.

Law enforcement eventually stopped the vehicle around 8:35 a.m. on Highway 27 near County Road 6 using the PIT maneuver.

According to the BCA’s preliminary investigation, officers attempted to negotiate with the man for several minutes. He ignored officers’ commands, emerging from the vehicle with the handgun and heading into a field on the west side of the highway on foot.

Five officers pursued the subject into the field in a Traverse County Sheriff’s Office vehicle. They cut him off about 175 yards off the roadway before he could reach a wooded area. From about 25 yards away, the subject then pointed the handgun at the officers. One officer fired his weapon, striking the subject.
Officers and responding EMT personnel attempted to render aid at the scene. The subject died before he could be transported.

The Ramsey County Medical Examiner’s Office will conduct an autopsy and provide formal identification.
The BCA’s investigation into this incident is active and ongoing. Once the investigation is complete, the BCA will turn its findings over to the Traverse County Attorney’s Office for review.

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