MINNEAPOLIS — A Duluth police officer was charged Monday with two felony counts after shooting an unarmed man through his apartment door in September.
Tyler Leibfried, 28, was responding to a Sept. 12 call about a domestic argument when he heard 23-year-old Jared Fyle kicking the door closed of his West Duluth apartment and mistook the noise for gunshots, according to the criminal complaint filed in St. Louis County Court.
Charges said Leibfried fired six shots, one of which hit Fyle in the back. Fyle was taken to the hospital and released from the emergency room that night, but a bullet remains lodged in his shoulder because of the high risk associated with the surgery required for removal, according to a release from the St. Louis County attorney's office.
According to a letter obtained through a public records request, Leibfried was previously reprimanded by Duluth police for "unintentional discharge" of his patrol rifle in 2017.
He was placed on administrative leave in September while the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, or BCA, conducted an investigation, which St. Louis County Attorney Mark Rubin said informed his decision to pursue criminal charges.
The offenses listed in the complaint — intentional discharge of a firearm that endangers safety and reckless discharge of a firearm within a municipality — are each punishable by up to two years in prison and a maximum $5,000 fine.
On the night of Sept. 12, Leibfried responded to a call reporting a possible domestic violence incident in the Kingsley Heights Apartments in downtown Duluth. When he entered the building, he met Fyle's girlfriend, who said the pair had argued but emphasized she was not assaulted, according to charges.
She asked for an escort to retrieve belongings from the apartment. To avoid further arguments between the couple, Leibfried and another Duluth officer went to gather items from the apartment unit where Fyle was.
Charges said Fyle kicked the apartment door shut and locked the deadbolt just as Leibfried was about to knock on it. Fyle later told BCA investigators that he did not realize anyone was outside, and he did not own a firearm.
Both Leibfried and his partner told investigators that they heard what sounded like gunshots coming from the apartment. According to charges, Leibfried fired four quick shots then two more six seconds later, after Fyle had shouted for them to stop.
In a statement, Rubin said that "Leibfried's conduct fails the 'objective reasonable officer' standard and that it was not an objectively reasonable use of deadly force."
Andrew Poole, an attorney for Fyle, said in a statement that Fyle is thankful Rubin's office decided to pursue prosecution. He added that Fyle is "fortunate to be alive and continues to recover from his gunshot wounds."
"We do not believe, however, that the charged crimes adequately address the act of purposefully shooting at an unarmed person through a closed door," Poole said.
A Duluth police spokesperson said in a statement Monday that the department is commencing an administrative investigation based on the BCA's findings, which should be finished in seven to 10 days.
