ST PAUL, Minn. — No charges will be filed against the St. Paul officer who shot and killed 65-year-old Yia Xiong in his apartment back in February of 2023.
Ramsey County Attorney John Choi and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison issued a joint statement Wednesday saying that the deadly forced used by Officer Abdirahmin Dahir was "justified" under Minnesota law. The decision not to charge Dahir comes after a nearly 10-month review following the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension's findings.
The BCA formally presented its investigative files to the Choi's office back on May 16, 2023. Choi later asked Ellison to join the review, and recruited use-of-force expert Jeff Noble to perform an independent review.
“Anytime deadly force is used by the government, it is a tragedy for all those involved, and it requires prosecutors to seek the truth without bias, fear, or favor and do the right thing," said Choi in a statement. "The facts of this case and our use of force expert’s opinion led us to conclude that Officer Abdirahmin Dahir’s use of deadly force was justified under the law and that no criminal charges are appropriate. I am deeply saddened that this legal decision may deepen the pain for Mr. Yia Xiong’s family and community members who wanted something different. I want to thank Attorney General Keith Ellison and his staff for joining my office in reviewing this tragic case.”
The key portion of the analysis by use-of-force expert Noble was that he believed the lives of the two responding officers, Officer Dahir and Officer Noushue Cha, were in "imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury when Office Dahir used deadly force." He added that when Dahir fired, Xiong was advancing toward the officers.
The St. Paul Police Department released body camera video showing the officers entering the St. Paul apartment building where residents reported a man was threatening people with a knife. Reports later revealed Xiong had been "kicked out of a party and he later returned and began threatening people with a knife." Officers made contact with Xiong outside of an apartment doorway.
In the bodycam video, voices can be heard yelling at Xiong to "drop the knife" and get on the ground, at which point Xiong entered an apartment. An officer is then seen pushing open the door behind Xiong, who came back out holding what appeared to be a large knife. A voice is heard screaming "stop" as Xiong walked out of the door before multiple shots are fired, the video showed. According to the BCA, Officer Dahir, who has one year of law enforcement experience, fired his department rifle during the encounter. Officer Cha, who also has one year of law enforcement experience, deployed his Taser.
Still images taken from the video show Xiong holding the knife in the hallway and officers picking up a large knife. The BCA said crime scene personnel recovered a 16-inch traditional Hmong knife at the scene. Relatives of Xiong argued that he struggled to understand orders to drop the knife because of a language barrier and extreme hearing loss.
"I am sorry to say this, but I don't care where are you are in the world. You are facing officers who are pointing guns at you. Common sense is that you, regardless of understanding English or not, you are not going to come at an officer anywhere in the world with a knife," National Use of Force expert, Ed Obayashi said.
Obayashi says the original report to 911 of the man with the knife is what set the tone for officers walking into the apartment. He says a call like that will heighten the state of any officer in the United States.
“Mr. Xiong’s life was precious and important, and his death was tragic. His family and community continue to cherish his memory," said Ellison in a statement. "This is why we took much care in evaluating the facts of his death. Our determination in this case is and must be based on what the law requires, and it is a responsibility we take with the greatest seriousness even as we hold the victim and his family in our hearts and minds. I thank County Attorney Choi for entrusting my office and me with assisting them in this matter of great importance to all parties and the community.”
Xiong's death set off protests in the community, with some saying officers provoked the senior, who family members insisted could not hear or speak English.
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