A Minneapolis Park Police officer was injured after his gun discharged Tuesday in a scuffle while trying to arrest a man suspected of inappropriately touching children at a south Minneapolis park.
The officer’s gun discharged while trying to arrest the man, though it’s unclear if the injury was a gunshot wound, according to Minneapolis Police chief Brian O’Hara, who spoke at the scene alongside Park Police Chief Jason Ohotto.
Police had the block of W. 25th Street taped off next to Mueller Park between Colfax and Bryant avenues while they investigated and media were briefed.
According to the timeline provided by Ohotto: Park police officers responded around 1:15 p.m. to Mueller Park after getting a 911 call reporting a sexual assault.
Ohotto later specified that it was regarding a man inappropriately touching children in the park. The officer found the man in the alley next to the park between Bryant and Colfax avenues. The suspect fought with the officer during the arrest, Ohotto said. During the fight, one round was discharged from the officer’s duty weapon while still in the holster. O’Hara said it’s under investigation whether the suspect or the park officer discharged the weapon.
Minneapolis officers arrived and assisted to arrest the suspect. The officer suffered an injury to his lower arm during the struggle, O’Hara told reporters at the scene. He said it’s not clear if the injury was from the gunshot, but he said it was minor.
The park officer injured had previously worked for Minneapolis police and had five years’ experience with the park department’s police force, as well as 30 years in law enforcement. The suspect was known to police and had criminal history including past assault cases, O’Hara added.
“It’s not clear if that’s perhaps a burn from the muzzle flash or some sort of fragment, but they are at the hospital now doing X-rays to determine exactly what caused the injury,” O’Hara said. The suspect was hospitalized as a precaution but there were no known injuries, the chiefs said. Because the park police officer’s weapon was fired, Minneapolis police will be conducting the investigation into the incident.
