The city of Robbinsdale agreed to a $3.2 million settlement in a lawsuit over a 2020 police shooting of a man experiencing a mental health crisis.
Police responded to a welfare call in July 2020 at a home in Robbinsdale, where then-29-year-old Adam Nelson was suicidal and pointing a gun at his own head. During the encounter, officer Geoffrey Kusick, who was then with the Crystal Police Department, shot Nelson nine times, requiring him to undergo serious medical treatment and surgeries.
Nelson sued the officer in May, alleging Kusick used unlawful deadly force when Nelson only posed a threat to himself. A statement from Robbinsdale’s legal counsel said Nelson had approached officers with a loaded firearm “in a manner reasonably believed to present a threat of death or great bodily harm to the shooting officer and others in the vicinity.”
Although a Crystal officer was sued, the city of Robbinsdale was responsible for the claim because Kusick responded to the scene due to a request for mutual aid. Out of the settlement, the city will pay nearly $1.2 million, and the League of Minnesota Cities insurance trust will cover $2 million.
The settlement agreement approved Tuesday by the City Council does not assume fault by Kusick or the city. Kusick left the Crystal Police Department in 2022 “on good terms,” said Vicki Hruby, an attorney representing him. His license shows he is now working in Rochester.
Attorney Robert Bennett, representing Nelson, said the settlement offers “some closure and compensation that will help him regain some of what he’s lost and be able to live a life going forward.”
Bennett, with the Robins Kaplan law firm, said Nelson, who previously worked as a welder, has gone back to school to learn nursing.
“Nurses were his lifeline, and he feels that’s a better and higher calling as a result of being injured,” Bennett said.
