MINNEAPOLIS — No criminal charges will be filed against a Hennepin County sheriff's deputy who shot and wounded a man during a stand-off in Crystal last May.
Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said Thursday investigators determined deputies had few options when they encountered Jamar Hollins in the bathroom of a Crystal home with a knife in his hand the night of May 22.
The deputies were serving an order for protection requested by Hollins' girlfriend, who said she had suffered abuse at his hands. Freeman says Hollins refused to leave the home and deputies unsuccessfully tried non-lethal force. He says Deputy Allen Magelssen determined he and another deputy were in danger of great bodily harm as Hollins was within an arms length and holding a knife, so he shot Hollins in the abdomen.
“I am relieved that Mr. Hollins survived the shooting,” Freeman said. “However, the thorough investigation by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension revealed that the Sheriff’s deputies had few options. They were there to serve an Order for Protection upon Mr. Hollins requested by his girlfriend. That requires the officers to escort him from the home he shared with the woman in order to protect her and her children. When he repeatedly refused, officers unsuccessfully tried non-lethal force and Deputy Magelssen determined that he and another deputy were in danger of great bodily harm, so the use of deadly force was justified."
Freeman and three other senior county attorneys reviewed the evidence in light of Minnesota law on police use of deadly force and the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Graham v. Conner. They determined Deputy Magelssen’s use of deadly force was justified. Hollins had been served with a valid Order for Protection requiring that he leave the property to protect his girlfriend and her children. The officers could not leave the property until he did.
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension investigated the shooting.
