DULUTH, Minn. (AP) - A St. Louis County district judge has upheld charges against a Duluth police officer who shot an unarmed man through an apartment door last year.
An attorney for Tyler Leibfried argued the shooting was justified because the officer heard what sounded like gunfire coming from the apartment. Police were responding to a possible domestic violence incident last September.
Jared Fyle, 23, was struck by gunfire and injured. He told investigators the loud noise captured on the officers’ body cameras was caused by him kicking shut and locking the door, not gunfire.
Leibfried is charged with intentional discharge of a firearm that endangers safety and reckless discharge of a gun within a municipality. Each carries a maximum two years in prison and a $5,000 fine upon conviction.
St. Louis County Attorney Mark Rubin says it might be the first time his office is pursuing criminal charges against an officer for a shooting, the Star Tribune reported.
Judge Sally Tarnowski denied the motion to dismiss charges Monday, saying there is probable cause to sustain them.
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