BCA won’t ID deputies who fatally shot man in Minneapolis’ Uptown neighborhood
Deputies who fatally shot a man on the top of a parking garage in Minneapolis last week will not be identified because they were working undercover and are protected under Minnesota law, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said Wednesday.
The statute the BCA cited in its news release stipulates law enforcement "shall withhold public access to data" if it would reveal the identity of an undercover law enforcement officer. The agency also said it does not have any footage of the incident.
Two deputies, one from the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office and another from the Ramsey County Sheriff's Office, shot Winston Smith Jr. on June 3 while under direction of a federal task force.
Authorities say Smith, 32, of Minneapolis, fired a gun from his vehicle as the task force tried to arrest him on a warrant from Ramsey County for being a felon in possession of a gun.
The deputies were working as part of the U.S. Marshals Service's North Star Fugitive Task Force.
Following the shooting in the Uptown neighborhood, sheriff's offices in Hennepin, Ramsey and Anoka counties' announced they were suspending their participation from the federal task force because it prohibited body cameras from being used by deputies.
The Hennepin County Examiner's Office said Smith died of multiple gunshot wounds.
In a separate case, the BCA identified an officer who shot a man in the leg on June 5. Metro Transit Police officer John Steele is being investigated for use of potentially deadly force against Kevion Jamal Gibbs, 23, of West Point, Miss., according to another BCA news release. The investigation is ongoing.
In that case, Metro Transit officers pursued Gibbs on foot after they witnessed the shooting of Deandre Intonio Smith, 33, of Minneapolis, according to the release. Steele shot Gibbs in the leg, the release said. Gibbs was taken to HCMC for treatment and then taken to the Hennepin County jail.
Gibbs was charged in Hennepin County District Court with second-degree intentional murder in connection to Deandre Smith's death. The shooting followed a verbal clash among people leaving a bar.
Alex.Chhith@startribune.com • 612-673-4759
maya.miller@startribune.com • 612-673-7086
