Duluth man sues officer who shot him through closed apartment door

DULUTH — A Duluth man who was shot through his apartment door by a police officer has filed a civil-rights lawsuit against the city and the officer.

In documents filed in federal court in mid-November, Jared Fyle says his rights were violated when Duluth Police Officer Tyler Leibfried used excessive force against him. The city, the complaint continues, also did not properly train the officer in use of force.

Leibfried was charged with two felonies after shooting the unarmed Fyle through the door of his Kingsley Heights Apartment, but was acquitted by a jury in St. Louis County District Court. Leibfried is believed to be the first Duluth police officer to be charged with a crime for a shooting in the line of duty.

Leibfried is currently a sworn officer in Duluth, a spokeswoman for the department confirmed Thursday. He was initially hired in 2016, then was placed "off duty indefinitely" after the shooting. After his trial ended in April 2022, he returned to work in May 2023.

Leibfried responded to a call about a domestic dispute at the downtown apartment complex on Sept. 12, 2020. Fyle's then-girlfriend told officers that she and her boyfriend had a verbal fight and she wanted an escort to get her belongings. As officers neared apartment 301, Fyle clicked the deadbolt and used a hatchet to further pound his door shut, he testified during the trial.

Leibfried, who had a year earlier been on the scene of a fatal police shooting, thought the pounding sounds were gunfire.

During the trial, Fyle testified that he had just locked the door of his third-floor apartment when he heard someone yell "shots fired" from the hallway. He dropped to the floor and the officer fired the first four shots.

Fyle was hit by a single bullet near his right shoulder blade.

In a response to the complaint, Leibfried claims he was acting within the scope of his duties and that there was probable cause for his actions. The city, in its response, said Fyle injuries were in part from his own conduct and that "at all relevant times, the City properly trained its police officers, including Officer Leibfried."