Minneapolis Park Police officer’s gun was holstered when man fired it during scuffle, charges say

The gunshot that wounded a Minneapolis park police officer occurred when the suspect he was wrestling with got his hand on the officer’s holstered weapon and pulled the trigger, according to charges filed Thursday.

Tazrick Tobias Nall, 28, of Minneapolis, was charged in Hennepin County District Court with second-degree assault and disarming a peace officer in connection with the scuffle he had with the 71-year-old officer around 1:15 p.m. Tuesday in Mueller Park in the Lowry Hill East neighborhood.

Nall was arrested at the scene and remains jailed in lieu of $100,000 bail ahead of a court appearance Friday. Court records do not list an attorney for him.

The officer was identified by the Minneapolis Police Department as Daniel McShane, 71. Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said McShane sustained a minor wound to one arm. He is now on standard paid administrative leave.

McShane had previously worked for Minneapolis police and has five years’ experience with the Park Board’s police force during his 37 years overall in law enforcement.

According to the criminal complaint:

Park officers were sent to Mueller Park on a report that a man was touching children. The officers found the man, later identified as Nall, in a nearby alley.

Nall went for the officer’s gun while it was in the holster, and Nall “was able to get his finger into the trigger guard and discharge the weapon. The gun was still in the holster at the time it was fired.”

Multiple officers were needed to subdue and arrest Nall.

Nall told police that he was upset about being tased and he want to get the officer’s gun in order to fire a warning shot. He said the officer did not deserve to have a gun. He gestured as if pointing a gun and said he wanted to ruin the officer’s life.

At the time of the shooting, Nall was on probation stemming from a conviction in 2023 for second-degree assault on allegations that he wielded a box cutter and cut a staffer at a Brooklyn Center group home.

Judge Lisa Janzen set aside a three-year sentence and opted for probation. Janzen said at the time that Nall was particularly amenable to probation and mental health treatment. Court records show he has been ordered civilly committed for mental health problems five times since 2017.