A police officer's conduct in a road rage case last year in Coon Rapids was "disappointing" but didn't rise to a felony level so a terroristic threats charge against him was dropped, a county attorney said.

Robbinsdale officer Landen M. Beard, 28, who was shot in the leg during the incident, had been indicted for making terroristic threats, a felony. The case was prosecuted by Washington County to avoid a conflict of interest for Anoka County prosecutors, who are handling charges against Martin Treptow, 36. Treptow, who was riding with his wife and children that June afternoon, has said he shot Beard in self-defense.

"We looked at the whole file and the grand jury testimony and came to the conclusion there was insufficient evidence to go to trial," said Washington County Attorney Doug Johnson. He said a judge approved dismissal of the felony charge last week.

Johnson said that the file is being sent to the Coon Rapids city attorney for review and that Beard could still face misdemeanor charges. "It is very disappointing to see a Minnesota law enforcement officer involved in this behavior," Johnson added. "This was a road rage incident ... and he was involved in it."

Beard's attorney, Bill Michael, said he was glad Johnson agreed the evidence didn't support the terroristic threats charge, adding: "We believe Mr. Beard did nothing wrong."

He said Beard has acknowledged driving on the paved shoulder to get around a line of cars, including Treptow's vehicle. However, Michael didn't think the officer deserved a careless driving misdemeanor charge because "the same technique is used by thousands of people every day ... There is a lot of activity that does not meet the strict standards of all traffic laws."

Beard, an undercover narcotics officer who was in an unmarked police car that day, has been on paid leave. Robbinsdale Chief Wayne Shellum couldn't be reached Saturday.

Johnson said typically when the criminal charges are resolved in cases involving officers, police departments review the matter to see whether the officer violated policies or code-of-conduct standards.

Treptow, who has a gun permit, faces trial in July on charges of making terroristic threats, drive-by shooting and reckless discharge of a firearm. Treptow has said he didn't know Beard was an officer and fired to protect his family after Beard pointed a gun at his wife. Beard says he drew his weapon and said he was an officer after seeing Treptow pull a gun.

Jim Adams • 612-673-7658