Duluth police officer, acquitted of on-duty shooting, now under different internal investigation

DULUTH – The city’s only police officer to stand trial for an on-duty shooting is now under investigation by the Duluth Police Department following allegations of criminal sexual conduct, according to the department.

Officer Tyler Leibfriedhas been on paid administrative leave since December 2024, when he was first accused. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) investigated the claims of two women and this summer delivered their findings to the St. Louis County Attorney’s Office, which declined to criminally charge Leibfried.

The Duluth Police Department said Wednesday that it has initiated its own investigation ”into Leibfried’s conduct as it relates to department and city policies."

“We take allegations against our officers very seriously and investigate each complaint thoroughly,” Police Chief Mike Ceynowa said in a news release.

The police department did not respond to follow-up questions about what its investigation entails or potential outcomes from its findings.

According to investigation documents released by the BCA, a woman reported that Leibfried sexually assaulted her in his truck in November 2024 on a night when they had been hanging out in a group at a bar. She blacked out, she told officials, and came into consciousness in a position she did not consent to. While the BCA was investigating the allegation, another woman came forward alleging Leibfried made nonconsensual sexual advances toward her.

In a letter declining charges, Assistant County Attorney Tyler Kenefick wrote that the 2024 incident didn’t meet the county’s standards for charging for criminal sexual conduct in the case. He added that he did not believe the report was made in bad faith and “her lack of memory of what occurred put her in an extremely difficult position.”

In an emailed statement, Leibfried’s Eagan-based defense attorney Ryan Pacyga disputed the first woman’s claims by pointing to witness statements that both Leibfried and the woman were more than moderately affected by alcohol.

“There were text messages from the accuser to Mr. Leibfried both during and after that evening that paint a much different picture of the events,” Pacyga wrote.

Pacyga said Leibfried fully cooperated with the investigation, including taking a polygraph test.

According to the BCA’s report, Leibfried’s polygraph results “showed deception” in two questions where he answered no when asked whether the victim was visibly incapacitated.

Leibfried, who was hired by the department in 2016, has spent much of his career on leave — paid or otherwise.

He ended up shooting Jared Fyle, who was on the other side of the door. Leibfried was acquitted of two felony charges; Fyle, who was hit by a bullet near his right shoulder blade, received a $600,000 settlement from the city in 2024.