Man cleared in Cold Spring officer killing settles suit with KSTP-TV

A Long Prairie man arrested and later cleared in the fatal shooting of Cold Spring police officer Tom Decker has settled his defamation lawsuit against KSTP-TV.

Ryan Larson sued KSTP and KSTC-TV this year in Ramsey County District Court, citing instances in which the station identified him by name and by photograph as the killer.

Larson was arrested and investigated in the death, his suit said, but police did not explicitly say that he killed Decker.

Despite that, his suit said, KSTP identified him that way and also incorrectly reported that he was charged with second-degree murder.

"The case between Ryan Larson and KSTP and KSTC has been amicably settled on a confidential basis, and the parties will not be disclosing any of the terms of the settlement," said a joint statement released by attorneys representing Larson and the stations.

Decker was making a follow-up welfare check on Larson on Nov. 29, 2012, when he was fatally shot about 10:45 p.m. behind Winners Bar in Cold Spring. Larson, who lived above the bar, was arrested about 12:15 a.m. Nov. 30.

Larson's family had requested a welfare check on him the day Decker stopped by his apartment.

Larson was released from jail Dec. 4, 2012, having never been charged in Decker's death. His suit said that KSTP didn't correct or rescind its reporting despite his release.

"The innuendo of an ambush by plaintiff Larson broadcast by defendant KSTP was false and unsupported by evidence connecting plaintiff Larson and was intended to sensationalize the broadcast and was defamatory," his suit said.

In its answer to Larson's suit, attorneys representing KSTP and KSTC-TV denied defaming him.

"The story and other broadcasts were wholly true, or at a minimum substantially true, when viewed in their entirety, without taking individual statements or images out of context, and in light of information provided by law enforcement at the time," said KSTP and KSTC-TV's response filed in September.

A man Decker had arrested in 2011, Eric J. Thomes, later was named a person of interest in the officer's death and committed suicide after a standoff with police in January 2013.

Chao Xiong • 612-270-4708