DCI, Jackley rule Sioux Falls officer was justified in July 14 shooting

An officer who shot and injured a resident on July 14 in Sioux Falls was justified in his actions, Attorney General Marty Jackley and the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation ruled Thursday.

The DCI report on the incident found a Sioux Falls Police Department officer "was justified in firing their weapon and using lethal force" against Sean Henry David Kilbourn, 34.

The investigation results of the report state Kilbourn, who was being sought by police for burglarizing a vehicle on July 13, was actively pointing a loaded handgun at the officer who shot him.

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"Based on the totality of the circumstances, a reasonable officer present at the scene utilized deadly force in a situation that was tense, uncertain, and rapidly evolving," the report reads. "Sean Kilbourn had the means and opportunity to use deadly force and was a clear and present danger to law enforcement on scene."

Jackley wrote in a press release announcing the report that evidence collected at the scene, witness statements, and body-cam and dashboard camera footage showed the officer was justified in shooting Kilbourn, who taken to Avera McKinnon Hospital with non-life threatening injuries and later discharged.

Jackley added Kilbourn's firearm was stolen from the homeowner whose car he burglarized ― a finding that was initially distinguished when Sioux Falls Police Chief Jon Thum held a press conference in the morning hours following the incident on July 14.

“This was a tense incident where the suspect, who was on parole, stole a firearm from a homeowner and pointed the loaded handgun at the officer who was responding to a call for assistance,” Jackley wrote.

New report details chase that led to shooting

The DCI report spells out how the officer-involved shooting occurred with previously unreleased information.

According to a follow-up interview with the involved officer conducted by a DCI agent, Kilbourn was in a foot-pursuit with officers on July 14. He hid behind a garden shed to the east of a home on 1320 N. Duluth Ave., where the shooting took place.

Per body-cam footage reviewed in the report, the involved officer approached the shed's northern face, then searched between the shed's western side and the eastern side of a detached garage, which DCI called a "very dark area." The report indicates Kilbourn's foot was visible "toward the bottom of the shed."

The officer told DCI that Kilbourn was laying on his side and "raising his arm in [the officer's] direction." The officer recalled Kilbourn was "holding a handgun in his left hand … in a way one would hold it to shoot, and the firearm was pointed directly at [the officer]."

"[The officer] felt terrified, believed they were about to be shot, and thought they were going to die," the report reads.

The reviewed footage indicates the officer began to give commands and said "let me see your," [sic] before firing eight gunshots at Kilbourn while backing away.

A medical report attached to DCI's summary found Kilbourn suffered a single gunshot wound to the left buttock, consisting of an entrance and exit wound, as well as a small abrasion to his right ankle, during the shooting.

The officer then returned to the north side of the shed. From a different vantage point, the officer told DCI he observed Kilbourn "lying on his stomach with his hands out in a surrender position." The officer iterated commands to Kilbourn, who complied, the report states.

The investigative report does not state whether video footage showed Kilbourn pointing a handgun at the officer. It also does not explain how Kilbourn's body was oriented or if the footage showed him laying on his side, as the officer described the suspect in his interview with DCI.

The report does, however, show officers taking Kilbourn into custody and "noting the location of Kilbourn's firearm on the ground." Scene photos and the investigation results determined the stolen gun was "loaded and functional" at the time of the shooting.

Drug and alcohol tests conducted on Kilbourn found the presence of THC, amphetamine and methamphetamine in his system.

Additionally, a baggie containing an unknown brown substance was located and recovered at the scene. The South Dakota Forensic Laboratory determined the substance was Fentanyl.

The laboratory also conducted tests on the handgun carried by Kilbourn and confirmed it was the same one stolen hours prior to the officer-involved shooting. It was also determined to be functional.

Why was Kilbourn being pursued in the first place?

According to the DCI report, Sioux Falls Police Department received a report at about 9:17 p.m. July 13 a homeowner in the 800 block of West Brookings Street had encountered a suspect, who was later identified as Kilbourn, burglarizing a vehicle in the homeowner's garage.

Upon Kilbourn's discovery, the 34-year-old man pointed a 9mm Palmetto State Armory Dagger handgun belonging to the homeowner and threatened to shoot them before fleeing.

Responding officers, which included the unnamed officer involved in the shooting, were unable to locate the suspect after he fled the scene, the report stated. Kilbourn had not been identified up to this point.

DCI's summary continues that the involved officer and two other Sioux Falls Police officers near the intersection of North Prairie Avenue and West Rice Street were discussing another investigation ― an unrelated stolen vehicle report, according to Thum's July 14 conference ― when a person matching a description tied to the burglary call approached the officers before suddently turned away and walking in the opposite direction.

The officers followed Kilbourn and attempted to make contact with the man but were ignored.

The involved officer told a DCI special agent in an interview that he recalled Kilbourn had a "bewildered look on his face" at the time the man noticed the officers.

Kilbourn, who was carrying a backpack, started to walk and then ran northeast, away from the officers. Video evidence from the incident indicated the involved officer could be heard "loudly yelling, 'Police! Stop!'" after Kilbourn started to run.

The officers separated from each other in an attempt to intercept Kilbourn.

The involved officer later encountered Kilbourn walking east along Russell Street Frontage Road during the late-night foot pursuit. The officer pointed their flashlight at the suspect and said "Police, stop."

Kilbourn then ran east from the officer and discarded his backpack in the process, the report stated. The involved officer told the DCI special agent he observed Kilbourn "had his hand in front of his body but was unsure if he was reaching for anything" during the chase.

Kilbourn fled south and eventually hid behind the home at 1320 N. Duluth Ave, where the involved officer lost sight of the man.

The report showed Kilbourn was on parole for charges at the time of the shooting, including use and possession of controlled substances, escape, grand theft, and assault on law enforcement. Kilbourn also has a criminal history of felony drug offenses, domestic assault, burglary, resisting arrest, and possession of a firearm by a person with a prior drug conviction, the report continued.

The report also stated DCI attempted to conduct an interview with Kilbourn. Kilbourn told the interviewer he was "lying on the ground when the Officer shot him." He also said the officers started chasing him as he was walking.

The report added Kilbourn would not provide any other information.

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Sioux Falls officer cleared in July 14 shooting