Off-duty St. Paul cop shot at; 2 arrested

Last update: December 31, 2008 - 8:35 PM

St. Paul police arrested a man and his juvenile companion after someone shot at an off-duty officer on an East Side street Wednesday afternoon, police spokesman Peter Panos said.

Panos said the officer, who was driving his own vehicle, came upon the two standing in the street at Brainerd Avenue and Desoto Street about 12:15 p.m. and that he suggested they get out of the intersection because of the slippery conditions.

As the officer pulled away, Panos said, the man shot at the vehicle, but missed.

Witnesses saw the suspects run into a residence in the 1200 block of Desoto Street. Officers went inside. It was there that the off-duty officer identified the alleged gunman.

Panos said four people in the house were taken into custody. Two were questioned and later released. The juvenile, a 17-year-old, was taken to the Ramsey County juvenile detention center, Panos said. The man was to be booked at the Ramsey County jail, he added.

Before the shooting, Panos said, the officer had not identified himself as a policeman, and as such, he said, the suspects would have known him only as a citizen offering a safety tip.

"No good deed goes unpunished," Panos said.

ANTHONY LONETREE

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