Minneapolis officials release 911 transcripts, officer complaint histories from deadly police shooting

Minneapolis officials on Monday released transcripts of two 911 calls that they said were made before police fatally shot Chiasher Vue last week, along with the complaint histories of the nine officers who fired their weapons during the encounter.

The transcripts, released on the city's website for critical incidents, offers a partial chronology of the events that led to the fatal showdown between police and Vue outside of his North Side home. The first 911 call came in about 3:07 a.m. on Dec. 15, according to city records.

The first transcript shows the unidentified caller struggling to relay what was happening, telling a 911 operator that they were going to "need an emergency over here real quick."

"What's the address of the emergency?" the operator responded.

"Ah man ah, ah, it's hard to explain man, you all need to get over here [inaudible, with both parties talking]," the caller said.

After some back-and-forth, the caller said that a man, later identified as Vue, was carrying a knife and shooting a gun inside the home while intoxicated.

When asked, the caller said that no one had been shot.

After gathering more details from the caller, the dispatcher instructed the person to wait for officers at a nearby parking lot.

Police briefly made contact with Vue, 52, and tried to persuade him to come outside. He appeared briefly at the front door before ducking back inside the house and returning with a rifle, which he shot at officers, according to the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA), which is investigating the shooting.

Eight officers — Sgt. Troy Carlson and officers Donnell Crayton, Kyle Pond, Travis Williams, Aaron Womble, Toua Yang, Jason Wolff and Daniel Ledman — returned fire with their service weapons. A ninth officer, Andrew Reed, fired a non-lethal device designed to incapacitate suspects without causing serious harm.

The BCA's preliminary investigation determined that dozens of shots were fired, even as a clear picture of the deadly shooting was still emerging on Monday.

According to court filings, 11 spent shell casings matching the caliber of the rifle Vue allegedly fired at officers were recovered from the porch, hallway and stairs of his home in the 3100 block of N. Thomas Avenue. Fifty-four 9-millimeter Luger cartridge casings were found at the home and on nearby sidewalks, matching weapons carried by police, the filings show.

No officers were injured, but several nearby homes and vehicles were struck by gunfire, according to court filings.

Wolff was involved in the only other officer-involved shooting in the city this year, when he shot and killed 32-year-old Mario Benjamin in north Minneapolis in August, also while responding to a domestic situation involving a weapon.

When reached for comment on Monday night, a police spokesman said he didn't know whether the officers, who have been interviewed by the BCA, remained on standard administrative leave. He added that he couldn't otherwise discuss what remained an open investigation.

"All we can do is release the public data, but unfortunately we can't speak," said John Elder, the spokesman.

Officials also released the officers' disciplinary histories, which varied widely:

• Crayton: Four complaints, all closed without discipline.

• Ledman: Five complaints, with one open, another leading to a letter of reprimand, and the rest closed without discipline.

• Pond: Eight complaints, three of which remain open and the rest closed without discipline.

• Reed: 14 complaints, three of which remain open, one led to a letter of reprimand, and the rest closed without discipline.

• Williams: 16 complaints, all closed without discipline.

• Womble: Two complaints, both closed without discipline.

• Yang: Seven complaints, all closed without discipline.

The records released Monday didn't specify the nature of each complaint or detail what sort of discipline was imposed. Officials also released a heavily redacted incident detail report, which showed that dozens of officers responded to the scene, but little other information.

The Police Department will conduct its own review of the shooting to determine whether any of the officers involved violated internal policy.

Libor Jany • 612-673-4064 Twitter: @StribJany