Mother of shooting victim says her son was was 'not armed'

ST. LOUIS PARK, Minn. -- The mother of a man who was shot and killed by a St. Louis Park police officer believes her son was not armed when the shooting happened.

The shooting happened around 2:20 a.m. Tuesday, when an off-duty police officer, Officer John Herman,  noticed a truck driving erratically on Minnetonka Boulevard near Salem Avenue South.

 The truck was stopped and a male occupant of the truck had an "altercation" with Officer Herman that resulted in the fatal shooting of the occupant. 

The man killed was 29-year-old Jason Anthony Martin of Blaine.

"He was a good man, a Marine who fought in Iraq," Dawn Marth, Martin's mother, told KARE 11 on Tuesday.

"He was not armed," she added.

City spokesman Jamie Zwilling says it wasn't immediately clear whether Martin was the driver or passenger.

Another occupant in the vehicle, also an adult male, was arrested by the Hennepin County Sherriff's Office on an outstanding warrant.

Officer Herman was transported to the hospital as a precaution and released shortly thereafter with minor injuries.

Minnetonka Boulevard was temporarily closed Tuesday morning while officials continued their investigation between the areas of from Raleigh Avenue South to Highway 100.

Officer Herman is on paid administrative leave while the incident is being investigated. The city says Herman has been with the department for over five years and has a good performance record.

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