Shootings by Cottage Grove, Woodbury officers to be reviewed

Two fatal shootings by police officers in Washington County in the past three weeks will be reviewed by a grand jury.

"This is what we routinely do with all our police shootings in Washington County," said County Attorney Doug Johnson.

The grand jury, whose proceedings are secret, will hear testimony and review other facts based on investigations now underway by the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA).

Johnson hopes to have a determination from the grand jury in both shootings before July 1.

"What I want to make sure happens is that the citizens have a chance to say, 'Yeah, the officer was justified in doing what he did,'" Johnson said. Not all counties have grand juries review shootings by officers.

Thursday night, Sgt. Omar Maklad of the Woodbury Police Department fatally shot Timothy S. Hanson, 55, while responding to a domestic disturbance call in the 7200 block of Braemar Lane. Police said Hanson fired first at Maklad, who was struck twice, but managed to fire at Hanson.

Preliminary autopsy results released Tuesday concluded that Hanson died of gunshot wounds to the chest, said Jill Oliveira of the BCA.

The grand jury will also examine the March 31 shooting of Robert T. Wilson, 27, by a Cottage Grove police officer during a traffic stop in the 6800 block of Hadley Avenue. Police say that when officer Brad Petersen asked Wilson to get out the car, Wilson drove off, dragging Petersen for more than 550 feet before the officer got his gun out and shot Wilson in the chest.

Petersen and officer Shawn Ebeling were placed on routine leave after the incident and returned to duty April 10, said Craig Woolery, Cottage Grove's police chief and public service director.

Woodbury's only other fatal police-involved shooting, in June 2000, also involved officers responding to a domestic dispute.

Perry Parks, 42, was shot during a scuffle when officers tried to arrest him at his home. Police said he had tried to grab an officer's gun out of its holster. The grand jury backed the officers.

Washington County's previous shooting involving a police officer also stemmed from a domestic dispute. Gerald E. Propps of Stillwater, 62, was shot to death Dec. 11 by a Stillwater police officer after Propps had shot his wife and confronted officers with a gun. The grand jury found the officer's use of deadly force was justified.